\^17E  take  pleasure  in  pre— 
^  senting,  for  your  library, 
this  book  which  deals,  in  part, 
with  the  development  of  our 
agricultural  colony  at  Wood- 
bine, New  Jersey. 

Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.areliive.org/details/adventuresinideaOOsabsricli 


ADVENTURES   IN   IDEALISM 


ADVENTURES    IN 
IDEALISM       '! 


A   PERSONAL   RECORD    OF   THE 
LIFE  OF  PROFESSOR  SABSOVICH 


BY 

KATHARINE   SABSOVICH 


New  York 

PRIVATELY  PRINTED 

FOR  THE  AUTHOR 

1922 


Copyright,  1922 
By  KATHARINE  SABSOVICH 


Room  1715 

80  Maiden  Lane 

New  York 

STRATFORD  PRESS,    INC. — AMERICAN   EOOKBINDERY 
NEW   YORK.    N.    Y.,    U.    S.    A. 


To  live  in  mankind  is  far  more 
than  to  live  in  a  name" 

Vachel  Lindsay 


470634 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword  by  Eugene  S.  Benjamin.     .  vii 

CHAPTER 

I.     School  Days  in  Russia 1 

11.     Odessa  and  the  Pogrom 8 

III.  From  Law  to  Agriculture  ....  18 

IV.  Among  the  Don  Cossacks    .     .     .     .  22 
V.    Facing  the  New  World 36 

VI.     Pioneering  with  Pioneers   .     .     .     .46 

VII.    A  Call  to  the  Land 52 

VIII.    Opening  of  the  Woodbine  Tract  .     .  57 

IX.    Building  the  Colony 67 

X.    The  First  Problems 77 

XI.    Unrest  Among  the  Colonists  ...  89 

XII.    Added  Industries 101 

XIII.  Strengthening  the  New  Allegiance  .  104 

XIV.  Bringing  Science  TO  THE  Farmers  .     .  Ill 
XV.    A  Pioneer  of  Agricultural  Schools    .  117 

XVI.    Woodbine  Entertains 125 

XVII.     New  Institutions 129 

XVIII.    The  Colony  Incorporates     ....  134 

XIX.    Recollections 142 

XX.    In  the  Hearts  of  His  People    .     .     .  149 

V 


VI  CONTENTS 

FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

PAGE 

The  Practical  Idealist.    By  Boris  D.  Bogen     .     157 

A  Pioneer  Social  Worker.    By  Solomon  Lowen- 

stein 163 

A  Life  Nobly  Lived.    By  Bernard  A.  Palitz  .     .     166 

Our  Teacher.    By  Saul  Drucker 183 

The  Baron  De  Hirsch  Agricultural  School. 

By  Jacob  Lipman 188 

The  Jewish  Farmers'  Best  Friend.     By  Joseph 

W.  Pincus 194 

The  Leader  of  Jewish  Agriculture  in  America. 

By  George  W.  Simon 204 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Professor  H.  L.  Sabsovich Frontispiece 


FACING 
PAGE 


Woodbine  As  We  Found  It 58 

One   of    Woodbine's    Original    Settlers    with    His 

Family 68 

The  Sabsovich  Cottage  in  Woodbine  ....       72 

"Rejoicing  in  the  Law" — Simchas  Torah   ...       74 

The  Founder  of  the  Colony  Personally  Supervis- 
ing the  Building  of  Settler's  Cottage     .      .       84 

Dr.  Paul  Kaplan  and  Arthur  Reichow — Two  of 

Woodbine's   Best   Friends 92 

The  Growing  Colony •.     104 

Woodbine's  Best  Crop 108 

Professor   and   Mrs.   Sabsovich   Entertaining   at 

Tea 112 

The  Original  Agricultural  School  Had  More  Spirit 

than   Body 114 

Campus  of  The  Baron  De  Hirsch  Agricultural 

School 116 

Prize  Crop  of  Sweet  Potatoes  Raised  by  Students 

of  the  Baron  De  Hirsch  Agricultural  School     118 

Interior  of  Model  Greenhouse  at  The  Agricultural 

School 120 

Faculty  and  Students  of  The  Baron  De  Hirsch 

Agricultural  School 122 

First  Public  Officials  of  the  First  Jewish  Borough 

Incorporated  in  the  United  States     .      .      .      134 


FOREWORD 

Professor  H.  L.  Sabsovich  is  recognized  as  one  of 
the  foremost  figures  in  the  field  of  Jewish  social 
service.  As  a  great  part  of  his  active  life  was  given 
to  the  work  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund,  I  consider 
it  a  privilege  to  make  this  acknowledgment  for  my  col- 
leagues and  myself  to  his  worth,  his  merit,  and  his 
undoubted  achievements,  as  well  as  to  his  excellent  ad- 
ministrative abilities,  as  the  Builder  of  Woodbine  and 
as  the  head  of  one  of  the  Fund's  most  important  insti- 
tutions, the  Woodbine  Agricultural  School,  and  later 
as  General  Agent  for  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund. 

He  was  a  very  exceptional  man,  in  so  far  that  he 
combined  practical  knowledge  in  very  many  directions 
and  good  executive  capacity,  together  with  an  idealism 
as  to  the  coming  achievements  of  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants, and  the  part  they  would  fill  in  American  life. 
It  is  gratifying  to  remember  that  he  lived  to  see  most 
of  these  prognostications  come  true.  At  all  times  he 
had  the  full  confidence  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Fund, 
who  relied  upon  his  integrity  of  purpose,  breadth  of 
viewpoint  and  capacity  to  carry  out  a  given  program. 

Nothing  can  be  added  to  the  simple  and  sympathetic 
record  written  by  his  devoted  wife  and  to  the  excellent 

vii 


viii  FOREWORD 

appreciation  written  by  his  associate,  Mr.  B.  A.  Palitz, 
except  to  say  that  he  commanded  respect,  affection, 
and  a  high  measure  of  appreciation  from  all  those  who 
had  occasion  to  meet  him  in  everyday  life. 

Never  a  well  man,  his  health  was  a  great  handicap, 
but  still  he  sacrificed  himself  and  never  allowed  his 
physical  condition  to  interfere  with  his  work. 

His  death  was  felt  by  all  the  Trustees  as  a  great  loss 
to  the  cause  which  we  were  all  attempting  to  serve,  and 
every  Trustee  in  addition  felt  a  personal  loss  was  sus- 
tained in  taking  away  from  us  a  man  with  whom 
we  had  always  worked  in  complete  harmony  and 
sympathy. 

Eugene  S.  Benjamin. 
October  20,  1921. 


ADVENTURES  IN  IDEALISM 

CHAPTER   I 

SCHOOL  DAYS   IN   RUSSIA 

np^HE  man  to  whom  I  was  happily  married  for 
•*'  thirty-three  years  is  now  some  six  years  dead 
and  buried  in  body,  but  not  in  spirit,  not  in  deeds.  It 
has  taken  me  all  of  these  six  years  to  reach  the  point 
where  I  can  speak  of  him  with  any  degree  of  calmness 
— of  his  character,  his  work !  His  wonderful  gentleness 
and  kindness  of  heart;  his  fine,  even  severe  sense  of 
duty  to  his  family,  his  friends,  or  to  the  cause  in  which 
he  chanced  to  be  interested,  made  him  beloved  by  all 
who  knew  him.  And  he  always  had  some  big  cause 
to  work  for.  In  all  the  thirty-five  years  I  knew  him 
I  do  not  remember  a  stretch  of  time  when  he  was  not 
actively  engaged  in  some  task  of  a  public  character. 
Since  his  death  I  have  strongly  felt  that  a  life  has 
gone  out  so  stimulating  to  the  youth  of  today  and  to- 
morrow— invaluable  from  v»^hatever  angle  it  may  be 
considered — that,  poorly  as  I  may,  I  have  decided  to 
note  down  some  of  the  things  I  know  of  him. 

In  September,  1881,  I  met  my  husband  at  the  home 

1 


2  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

of  a  dear  friend  of  mine.  He  was  a  tall  man,  very 
slim — ^all  legs  and  arms  it  seemed — with  a  small,  pale 
face,  illumined  by  large,  clear,  gray-blue  eyes;  the 
features  finely  cut,  and  the  nobly  shaped  head  sur- 
mounted by  thick  brown  curls.  Though  only  twenty 
years  of  age  he  looked  older,  because  of  the  small 
beard  so  commonly  worn  by  students  in  Russia  then. 
He  had  just  entered  upon  his  second  year  in  the  Law 
School  of  the  Odessa  University,  where  a  brilliant 
career  was  predicted  for  him. 

It  is  to  his  younger  sister  that  I  am  indebted  for 
most  of  what  I  know  of  his  childhood  and  boyhood. 
He  was  born  in  Berdiansk,  Russia,  an  Azov  seaport. 
His  father  died  when  he  was  not  quite  four  years  old, 
leaving  his  mother  with  seven  children — four  boys  and 
three  girls.  My  husband  was  next  to  the  youngest,  and 
his  sister,  the  baby  of  the  family,  was  only  one  and 
a  half  years  old.  The  two  eldest  boys,  big  men  of 
fourteen  and  twelve,  now  became  the  sole  support  of 
the  family.  While  nothing  more  could  be  expected  of 
Grisha,  as  they  called  my  husband,  than  that  he  should 
remain  in  the  Talmud  Torah,  or  Hebrew  School,  he 
was  there  distinguishing  himself  as  the  brightest  pupil. 
In  fact,  by  the  time  he  was  eight  his  brothers  were  so 
well  pleased  with  his  unusual  ability  and  his  love  of 
study  that  they  decided  he  must  enter  the  Gymnasium 
just  then  opening  its  doors  in  Berdiansk.  Though 
my  husband  was  generally  known  to  his  Russian 
friends  as  Grisha  or  Gregory,  he  later  in  life  used  only 


SCHOOL   DAYS   IN   RUSSIA  3 

the  initials  H.  L.,  signifying  Hirsch  Loeb,  the  names 
formally  given  him  by  his  parents. 

Grisha  was  one  of  the  first  recommended  for  the  free 
scholarships  which  the  gymnasium  was  offering  to 
the  best  pupils  of  the  different  schools.  The  scholar- 
ship consisted  of  free  tuition  and  free  books.  It  meant 
that  he  would  have  .to  be  supported,  but  though  the 
family  had  to  battle  with  great  hardships,  it  was  de- 
cided that  Grisha  should  continue  his  studies. 

From  the  first  year  to  the  very  last  Grisha  was  at 
the  head  of  his  classes.  But  the  gold  medal  which 
was  rightfully  his  he  forfeited.  It  happened  in  this 
way:  During  the  last  year  at  the  Gymnasium  one  of 
the  teachers,  who  was  greatly  admired  by  the  pupils, 
was  dismissed  for  expressing  a  little  more  liberalism 
than  was  wanted.  The  pupils  refused  to  return  to  the 
classroom  unless  -this  teacher  was  reinstated.  As  a 
result  of  his  participation  in  this  protest  my  husband 
lost  the  right  to  the  gold  medal. 

By  the  time  he  was  ten  he  had  begun  to  earn  his 
living  as  a  teacher,  coaching  the  more  prosperous  class- 
mates, and  preparing  others  for  their  entrance  ex- 
aminations. To  be  sure,  the  pay  was  a  mere  pittance, 
but  he  was  the  pride  of  the  family  and  the  talk  of  the 
town  for  earning  it  at  so  early  an  age.  Money,  how- 
ever, did  not  mean  much  to  him.  He  was  exceedingly 
kind-hearted,  and  he  was  always  giving  lessons  gratis 
to  his  less  fortunate  friends,  especially  during  examina- 
tion time. 


4  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

"And  so/'  writes  his  sister,  "he  worked  very  hard 
and  had  very  httle  time  for  play.  But  one  great  temp- 
tation he  had,  and  that  was  flying  kites.  Whenever 
I  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  one,  I  knew  Grisha  would 
join  me  and  leave  his  books  for  that  sport. 

"He  was  a  great  reader.  Every  moment  he  could 
spare  from  his  lessons  and  coaching,  he  spent  in  read- 
ing. When  we  wanted  to  find  Grisha  we  had  only  to 
look  to  Mother's  bed,  and  there  he  was,  hidden  in  the 
big  feather  mattress  and  pillows,  cuddled  in  fairyland, 
deep  in  his  book. 

"Vacation  time  would  come,  but  he  was  still  the 
busiest  boy,  for  then  he  had  to  prepare  pupils  for 
entrance  examinations,  and  to  coach  those  who  had 
failed  in  the  examinations  at  the  end  of  the  year.  So 
altogether  he  worked  hard.  Every  year  he  contributed 
more  and  more  toward  the  support  of  the  family — 
and  with  the  best  will  in  the  world.  He  was  so  grateful 
to  his  elder  brothers  for  giving  him  the  chance  that 
they  had  missed  that  he  felt  he  could  never  do  enough 
for  them. 

"So  it  was  that  working  hard,  denying  himself  that 
essential  pleasure  of  childhood — play,  he  caught  a 
severe  cold.  Inflammation  settled  on  his  lungs,  and  at 
one  time  we  thought  that  we  should  lose  him.  But 
at  last,  the  danger  over,  Grisha  appeared  among  his 
schoolmates  once  more,  a  very  emaciated  little  boy. 
He  really  looked  as  though  he  had  been  in  the  grip  of 


SCHOOL   DAYS    IN    RUSSIA  5 

death.  He  was  so  thin,  that  I,  his  younger  sister,  car- 
ried him  in  my  arms.  I  remember  though  that  shortly 
after  his  illness  he  suddenly  began  to  grow  and  soon 
shot  up  into  a  tall,  lank  youth." 

It  proves  how  high  he  stood  in  the  opinion  of  his 
teachers  that  although  he  had  been  sick  during  examina- 
tion time,  he  was  promoted  to  the  fifth  class  of  the 
Gymnasium  without  the  test  and  with  high  honors. 

In  his  eighth  year  of  school  a  number  of  pupils  at 
the  Odessa  Gymnasium  were  expelled  for  being  mixed 
up  in  some  Workingmen's  Circles  and  liberal  propa- 
ganda work,  and  had  to  forfeit  their  diplomas.  They 
applied  to  the  Berdiansk  Gymnasium  and  were  ad- 
mitted. When  they  came  to  Berdiansk  two  of  them 
became  boarders  at  the  house  of  Grisha's  mother. 
Those  two  boys  became  widely  known  in  later  years, 
Kostia  Puritz  as  a  physician,  and  Lyova  Albert  as  a 
great  social  worker.  All  three  became  very  close 
friends.  The  boys  from  the  big  city  exercised  a  great 
influence  on  the  country  boy  and  quickened  his  interest 
in  matters  of  public  welfare.  They  had  lived  in  the 
midst  of  the  great  movements  of  the  time.  They  were 
full  of  big  ideas  and  took  a  great  interest  in  the  newly- 
started,  revolutionary,  underground  paper,  "Land  and 
Freedom,"  which  advocated  the  taking  of  the  land  by 
those  who  till  it,  and  freedom  of  thought  for  all. 

Berdiansk  was  a  small  country  place,  in  no  way  to  be 
compared  with  Odessa,  but  the  three  boys  were  not  cast 
down.     They  set  about  organizing  several  "self-edu- 


6  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

cational  clubs,"  each  taking  the  lead  in  a  club  where 
young  men  and  women  could  come  together  and  dis- 
cuss affairs  of  general  interest.  That  was  in  1879,  a 
time  of  great  activity  in  all  Russian  revolutionary 
circles.  Among  these  young  idealists  there  was  no 
question  at  the  time  of  Jew  and  Christian, — all  worked 
together  in  the  cause  hand  in  hand,  organizing  clubs 
for  the  masses.  Of  course  these  meetings  were  kept 
secret. 

In  May  Grisha  and  his  two  chums  graduated  from 
the  Gymnasium,  and  Puritz  and  Albert  left  for  Odessa 
to  enter  law  school.  Grisha  followed  them  in  August. 
To  enable  him  to  pursue  his  studies  his  two  Odessa 
friends,  well  known  there,  secured  pupils  for  him  in 
advance.  So,  when  he  arrived  in  the  city,  he  found  that 
he  would  have  about  seventy-five  rubles  a  month, 
which  would  enable  him  to  support,  not  only  him- 
self, but  his  younger  sister.  He  therefore  brought  her 
from  Berdiansk,  secured  lodgings  and  began  to  pre- 
pare her  for  college  entrance. 

This  was  the  year  that  I  graduated  from  Filler's 
Gymnasium.  As  soon  as  we  were  out  of  school  four 
of  the  other  graduates  and  I  felt  the  need  of  doing 
something  in  an  educational  way  for  the  Jewish  poor. 
We  decided  to  open  a  free  school  for  Jewish  girls  who 
were  not  able  to  pay  the  fee  to  attend  the  private 
schools.  Jewish  girls  were  not  admitted  to  the  few 
elementary  free  schools  of  Russia.  And  yet  we  felt 
that  these  children,  being  of  the  poorest  class — their 


SCHOOL   DAYS    IN   RUSSIA  7 

families  living  in  cellars  and  sub-cellars — needed  a 
vocational  as  well  as  an  elementary  education.  So  we 
decided  to  open  an  elementary  and  vocational  school 
for  the  girls,  similar  to  the  one  opened  a  year  previously 
for  poor  Jewish  boys.  Two  of  us  were  delegates  to 
meet  representatives  of  'the  Boys'  School.  One  of  these 
men  was  my  husband. 

He  often  came  to  our  meetings  to  discuss  ways  and 
means,  and  so  energetic  was  the  spirit  of  these  gather- 
ings that  in  a  few  months  we  opened  the  school  for 
Jewish  girls  with  seventy-five  children.  The  school  is 
now  known  all  over  Russia  as  the  "Anna  Siegal 
School."  Officially  the  school  had  to  be  run  as  a 
private  one,  because  it  was  conducted  without  recogni- 
tion from  the  government.  Funds  for  running  it  had 
to  be  collected  secretly,  and  the  money  was  raised  by 
holding  balls,  bazaars,  and  similar  entertainments.  The 
two  schools  were  a  nucleus  for  the  development  of  sim- 
ilar schools  for  boys  and  girls  which  sprang  up  all 
through  the  Jewish  quarter.  To  the  best  of  my  knowl- 
edge, the  original  two  schools  exist  today,  greatly  en- 
larged and  extended,  and  now  supported  openly  by  the 
various  Jewish  organizations  and  city  funds. 

My  husband  and  I  met  frequently  at  the  organizing 
conferences.  Strong  mutual  interest  ripened  our 
friendship,  and  a  year  later,  in  the  spring  of  1881,  we 
were  formally  betrothed. 


CHAPTER   II 

ODESSA   AND   THE   POGROM 

^nr^HE  spring  of  1881  was  the  most  significant,  the 
•^  most  interesting  year  in  my  husband's  early  Hfe. 
He  peacefully  devoted  himself  to  his  studies,  to  his 
tutoring,  to  forming  "Self-Education  Centers,"  helping 
in  the  distribution  of  underground  literature  and  estab- 
lishing new  centers.  My  husband  counted  among  his 
friends  as  many  Christians  as  Jews,  and  visited  as 
many  Christian  homes  as  Jewish.  The  question  of 
race  and  creed  did  not  exist  among  the  Intelligentsia 
at  all.  In  the  University  the  Jewish  and  Christian  stu- 
dents were  on  the  friendliest  of  terms.  The  meetings 
were  just  of  one  body — ^the  student  body.  The  good 
of  Russia,  of  its  working  masses,  of  its  peasants — these 
were  the  topics  that  interested  and  united  the  best 
among  its  members. 

The  autumn  of  1881  changed  everything.  The 
whole  spirit  of  the  country  was  altered.  The  Terrorist 
Movement  was  then  at  its  height,  one  high  official  after 
another  having  been  assassinated.  Czar  Alexander 
II  himself,  was  killed.  The  government  needed  an  ex- 
cuse, an  explanation,  a  scapegoat  for  all  the  terror  that 

8 


ODESSA   AND   THE    POGROM  9 

was  raging;  for  all  the  panic  spread  by  the  thick  net 
of  secret  organizations.  It  was  not  difficult  to  find  that 
scapegoat.  Among  the  many,  many  Terrorists  it  was 
but  natural  that  there  should  be  a  proportionate  quota 
of  Jews.  The  press,  subsidized  by  the  government, 
began  a  systematic  hounding  of  the  Jews,  and  de- 
nounced them  as  "the  cause  of  all  the  trouble,  inciting 
the  people  to  riot  and  bloodshed."  This  cry  found  its 
echo  in  the  universities.  The  Jewish  students  began 
to  feel  a  change  in  atmosphere.  They  began  to  feel 
the  animosity,  not  only  of  the  Christian  students, 
but  of  some  of  the  professors  as  well.  It  was  not 
enough  to  hear  talk  of  Pogroms  on  the  streets,  in  the 
cafes,  in  the  places  of  amusement ;  it  finally  entered  the 
university,  too.  A  great  many  of  the  Christian  stu- 
dents, organized  in  a  body  "to  help  kill  the  Jews."  The 
Jewish  students,  to  their  bewilderment  and  sorrow, 
discovered  the  existence  of  the  organized  body  and  its 
terrible  aim.  All  this  made  a  lasting  impression  on 
my  husband. 

Some  of  the  Jewish  students  called  an  indignation 
meeting,  and  a  "Self-Defence  League"  was  organized. 
Its  purpose  was  to  protect  the  Jewish  populace  during 
the  Pogroms,  which  every  one  knew  would  take  place 
during  the  Passover  holidays.  Ten  of  the  ablest  young 
Jews  in  the  student  body  took  the  lead,  my  husband 
being  one  of  them.  At  once  they  began  to  organize 
the  Jewish  butchers,  grain-shovelers,  bricklayers,  and 
other  young  workers  of  strength  and  courage.    They 


10  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

supplied  every  one  with  any  kind  of  tool  or  weapon  of 
defense  they  could  lay  hands  on,  and  they  assigned 
groups  of  the  volunteers  to  places  in  the  poorest  and 
most  crowded  districts  of  the  city  where  they  expected 
the  Czar's  mercenaries  to  do  their  worst — and  where, 
on  account  of  their  extreme  poverty,  the  victims  could 
not  buy  police  protection  after  the  manner  of  the  more 
wealthy  Jewish  citizens. 

And  one  Sunday  afternoon — the  fifth  day  of  Pass- 
over and  the  first  of  Easter — while  my  husband  was 
visiting  me,  the  Pogrom  broke  out.  We  heard  shrill 
whistling,  the  smashing  of  windows,  the  wild  clamor 
of  the  hoodlums,  and,  above  all,  the  shouts:  "Kill!  kill 
the  Jews!"  My  husband  rushed  out  of  the  house,  and 
that  was  the  last  I  saw  of  him  until  three  days  later  I 
visited  him  in  the  Odessa  prison.  He  and  his  fellow- 
students  were  nursing  the  wounds  they  had  received 
from  the  hoodlums,  while  they  were  trying  to  protect 
the  homes  that  had  been  attacked  by  the  ruffians.  The 
police  had  been  out  the  whole  first  day  of  the  massacre 
defending  the  hoodlums.  They  had  clashed  with  the 
organized  "Self-Defence"  in  several  sections  of  the 
city,  and  bloody  fights  had  taken  place  between  the 
Pogromschiki  and  the  Jewish  defenders.  The  police, 
in  their  righteous  anger,  arrested  every  one  of  the 
young  Jewish  students  and  flung  them  into  jail. 

Despite  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  by  the  fathers 
of  the  students,  a  number  of  whom  were  wealthy  and 
influential  citizens,  it  was  at  least  two  weeks  before 


ODESSA   AND   THE    POGROM  11 

their  trial  took  place;  and  then  it  turned  out  to  be  a 
farce,  for  every  one  of  the  arrested  men  was  released. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  most  of  these  young 
students  of  the  "Self-Defence  League"  became  in  after 
years  well-known  scientists  and  social  workers.  Alex- 
ander Krasilchek,  the  widely-known  entomologist; 
Vladimir  Chavkin,  the  bacteriologist;  Kalmenowitz, 
who  became  later  a  member  of  the  first  Russian  Duma ; 
the  respected  physician,  Kostia  Puritz;  and  Lyova 
Albert,  lawyer,  the  same  youth  with  whom  my  husband 
became  so  friendly  in  Berdiansk.  Of  the  last-named 
I  must  speak  a  little  further. 

In  1881,  when  a  young  man  of  twenty-seven,  Albert 
conceived  and  put  into  execution  a  brilliant  and  hu- 
mane plan,  which  in  this  country,  many  years  later,, 
became  well  known  as  the  "Big  Brother"  movement. 
He  arranged  with  local  authorities  to  be  notified  when 
a  boy  was  discharged  from  the  penitentiary,  and  Albert 
then  took  him  in  charge.  He  housed,  fed  and  clothed 
him,  taught  him  a  trade,  and  showed  him  that  one 
crime  does  not  make  a  criminal,  and  that  it  was  pos- 
sible to  save  him,  both  for  himself  and  for  the  com- 
munity. 

He  arranged  it  in  this  way.  In  a  set  of  rooms  which 
his  mother  portioned  off  for  him  in  her  large  apart- 
ment house,  he  opened  a  vocational  school.  He  fitted 
up  the  place  with  the  proper  accommodations,  so  that 
his  charges  could  live  there,  free  of  all  expense,  while 
they  were  getting  their  training.     Then  he  engaged 


12  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

an  instructor,  and  began  a  systematic  campaign  to  help 
unfortunate  or  mistaken  young  boys  to  become  useful 
both  to  themselves  and  to  the  world.  So  successful 
was  he  that  it  was  not  long  before  the  authorities  them- 
selves took  up  his  plan  and  carried  it  out  on  a  larger 
scale  than  he  could  afford.  Thus  from  his  nucleus  grew 
a  chain  of  similar  schools  that  reached  into  every  cor- 
ner of  Russia. 

He  had  a  short,  but  glorious  life — ^his  name  on  the 
lips  of  all  liberal  Russians.  He  survived  to  see  his 
efforts  take  effect,  but  no  longer;  for,  after  he  had 
established  several  homes  of  this  character  in  Odessa, 
consumption  developed  and  he  died.  There  was  not 
any  one,  young  or  old,  Jew  or  Christian,  rich  or  poor, 
illiterate  or  enlightened,  who  did  not  follow  him  either 
in  thought  or  in  person  to  his  last  resting-place.  Every 
class  was  represented  at  his  burial.  As  his  fame  spread 
so  rapidly  a  multitude  knew,  loved  and  appreciated  him. 

I  also  wish  to  speak  of  Vladimir  Chavkin.  Years 
ago,  while  still  in  his  early  thirties,  he  was  one  of  Pas- 
teur's assistants.  When  the  bubonic  plague  broke  out 
in  India  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  volunteer  to  risk  his 
life  for  the  furtherance  of  science  and  humanity.  He 
undertook,  as  is  now  a  matter  of  common  knowledge, 
the  inoculation  of  the  sick.  Fortunately  his  splendid 
efforts  among  the  plague-stricken  populace  met  with 
such  success  that  his  name  became  known  all  over  the 
world. 

The  critical  months  of  1881  dragged  by.     The  sky 


ODESSA   AND    THE    POGROM  13 

did  not  clear  after  the  thunderclap.  By  the  time 
autumn  came  a  real  movement  toward  emigration  made 
itself  evident  in  the  thoughts  and  sentiments  of  the 
poorer  Jews  throughout  their  pale  of  settlement.  The 
students  who  organized  the  "Self-Defence  League" 
came  together  again  to  help  shape  and  mould  the 
Jewish  sentiment  and  to  bring  the  Jewish  thought  into 
practical  channels.  Accordingly  they  organized  the 
''Am-Ohlom"  (The  Eternal  People).  This  society 
was  to  decide  upon  a  plan  for  emigration,  and  to  help 
the  needy  with  funds.  Some  favored  Palestine;  some 
the  Argentine.  My  husband  came  out  strongly  in 
favor  of  the  United  States  of  America;  and  so  the 
purpose  of  the  ''Am-Ohlom**  was  definitely  settled  as 
an  aid  and  furtherance  of  emigration  to  America. 
Another  of  its  objects  was  to  show  the  world  that  a 
Jew  was  able  to  become  a  productive  worker  if  given 
the  proper  chance.  Thus  agricultural  colonization  took 
shape  in  their  imaginations  as  the  chief  objective  for 
future  time. 

My  husband  was  appointed  one  of  the  committee  of 
the  "Am-Ohlomf*  He  opened  a  correspondence  with 
the  Jewish  organizations  in  Cracow,  Vienna,  Paris  and 
London,  as  well  as  with  other  Russian  societies,  for 
the  purpose  of  raising  funds.  I  do  not  know  the  exact 
amount  of  money  collected,  but  I  do  know  that  re- 
sponses were  very  generous,  and  many,  many  hundreds 
of  the  desperate  people  were  helped  to  emigrate.  (How 
my  husband  kept  his  health  in  those  days  I  cannot  tell. 


14  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

What  with  his  regular  college  work,  tutoring  as  a 
means  of  livelihood,  and  the  work  for  the  ''Am- 
Ohlom,"  he  rarely  had  more  than  five  hours*  sleep.) 

In  January,  1882,  the  first  party  sent  by  the  society, 
consisting  of  only  six  men — but  those  the  very  finest 
and  most  intelligent — ^left  for  Brody  to  wait  and  ar- 
range there  for  the  other  parties  to  arrive.  By  May 
of  1882  three  more  parties  left  Odessa,  this  time  hun- 
dreds going  in  each  band.  But  when  the  government 
became  aware  of  the  large  flow  of  emigration  very 
stringent  laws  were  promulgated,  and  it  was  impos- 
sible for  the  third  party  to  obtain  passports.  To  plan 
the  work  of  the  "Am-Ohlom"  therefore  became  much 
more  difficult,  since  an  organization  of  this  character 
was  now  prohibited  by  the  government.  Delegates 
from  organizations  in  other  towns  were  sent  to  us ;  the 
*'Am-Ohlom"  had  to  manipulate  passports  for  all  the 
emigrants  to  use,  and  yet  keep  its  meetings  secret. 

Most  of  the  conferences  were  held  in  the  house  of 
Nuchem  Rubin.  It  so  happened  that  on  March  13  the 
head  of  the  Odessa  Gendarmerie,  S.trelnikoff,  was  as- 
sassinated. He  had  been  sent  from  St.  Petersburg  to 
rout  out  the  nest  of  revolutionists.  He  had  filled  the 
prisons  to  capacity  with  the  best  youth  of  Odessa.  But, 
in  spite  of  all  his  vigilance,  he  himself  was  struck  down 
and  the  assassins  escaped.  The  police  were  in  a  frenzy 
and  more  alert  than  ever.  They  noticed  that  an  un- 
usual number  of  people  frequented  the  Rubin  home. 
They  became  suspicious  and,  concluding  that  the  meet- 


ODESSA   AND   THE    POGROM  15 

ings  were  of  a  political  nature,  hoped  for  a  clue — for 
some  connection  with  this  last  Terroristic  act,  the  as- 
sassination of  Strelnikoff.  So  they  decided  to  raid 
the  place  in  the  course  of  a  big  meeting  which  was  to 
be  held  March  16.  One  who  took  an  active  part  in 
the  ''Am-Ohlom" — then  a  youth  of  eighteen,  a  delegate 
from  Elizabetgrad — ^the  late  Dr.  Hillel  Solotaroff— 
described  the  raid  to  me  very  dramatically: 

"About  sixty-nine  members  of  the  *Am-Ohlom*  were 
present,  and,  during  the  heat  of  discussion,  a  late  ar- 
rival ran  in,  pale  and  trembling. 

"  'We  are  surrounded  by  police  and  Cossacks !'  he 
gasped. 

"No  sooner  had  he  uttered  the  words  than  the  Cap- 
tain of  the  Police,  with  several  of  his  Cossacks,  rushed 
in.  Looking  towards  the  very  end  of  the  room,  where 
the  speaker  sat,  the  Captain  said  to  his  men: 

"Take  him!    There  he  is!* 

"The  man  was  brought  forward,  but  the  Captain 
looked  at  him  and  said: 

"  *No,  the  description  calls  for  a  different  person. 
The  man  we  want  is  tall,  slim,  with  big  gray  eyes,  eye- 
glasses, a  short  beard.  No,  this  fellow  does  not  answer 
the  description.' " 

All  present  recognized  that  he  was  looking  for  my 
husband.  By  some  lucky  chance  he  was  elsewhere  and 
was  not  intending  to  report  until  the  very  end  of  the 
meeting.  Fortunately  the  police  broke  up  the  gather- 
ing. They  took  the  names  of  those  present,  and  ordered 


16  ADVENTURES   IN   IDEALISM 

them  to  appear  on  the  following  day  at  the  Police  Sta- 
tion. My  husband  was  advised  early  next  morning 
by  these  friends,  to  leave  the  city  and  disappear  for  a 
week  or  so,  until  the  trouble  should  blow  over,  as  the 
Government  suspected  him  of  being  a  party  to  the 
assassination.  He  took  the  warning — the  more  will- 
ingly that  by  this  time  all  work  for  the  four  parties 
about  to  emigrate  was  complete. 

No  more  efforts  could  be  made  in  this  line  for 
many  reasons,  the  main  one  being  the  very  strict 
police  surveillance  and  their  refusal  to  issue  passports. 
By  the  end  of  May  the  last  of  the  parties  had  left  for 
America. 

When  my  husband  returned  from  his  brief  exile  he 
went  on  with  his  studies  and  completed  his  third  year 
at  Law  School. 

On  April  25th,  1882,  we  were  married. 

The  first  letters  from  the  members  of  the  ''Am- 
Ohlom"  in  America — from  men  like  the  much-loved 
philosopher  Bokal,  from  Dr.  Paul  Kaplan  and  from 
Dr.  Solotaroff,  came  full  of  enthusiasm.  Slowly  but 
surely  the  decision  was  forming  in  my  husband's  mind 
to  give  up  law,  a  profession  in  which  he  undoubtedly 
would  have  made  a  success,  as  he  was  considered  by  the 
faculty  and  the  student  body  the  most  promising  and 
brilliant  man  in  the  class.  He  had  everything  to  gain 
by  continuing  with  law,  and  had  only  one  more  year 
at  the  University.  He  had  my  father's  promise  of 
financial  backing  when  he  started  to  practice  his  pro- 


ODESSA   AND   THE    POGROM  17 

fession,  the  ability  to  assist  and  ease  life  for  his  aged 
mother,  to  help  his  brothers,  who  had  sacrificed  so 
much  to  see  him  get  his  education — prospects  most 
alluring.  But  sincerity  in  thought  and  purpose  and 
great  idealism  were  his  outstanding  characteristics. 
With  his  rigid  uprightness  and  vivid  sense  of  truth  and 
justice,  he  felt  that,  as  the  leader  of  the  ''Am-Ohlom" 
it  was  not  for  him  to  choose  a  safe  and  free  profession 
in  Russia  while  others  were,  despite  their  enthusiastic 
letters,  undoubtedly  enduring  hardships  in  America. 
Of  all  the  student  organizers  of  the  Self-Defence 
League  and  later  of  the  "Am-Ohlom"  he  was  the  only 
one  to  give  up  a  sure  career  to  take  up  the  dark  un- 
known ;  for,  in  June,  1882,  he  decided  to  live  up  to  the 
idea  he  was  preaching — "Back  to  the  Land" — "Farm- 
ing for  the  Jews  in  the  New  Land."  He  would  actually 
be  their  teacher  and  leader,  and,  to  equip  himself,  he 
would  take  up  agriculture  as  a  profession. 


CHAPTER   III 

FROM    LAW   TO   AGRICULTURE 

^TT^HERE  was  a  storm  of  reproach  and  disapproval 
from  my  parents  when  they  heard  of  my  hus- 
band's decision.  Agriculture  as  a  profession!  To  be- 
come a  plain  mujik — as  they  saw  it.  An  occupation 
so  far  below  the  dignity  of  an  intelligent,  balabatish 
(respectable)  Jewish  youth!  But  his  decision  was 
irrevocable. 

I  was  fully  in  sympathy  with  his  idea  and  in  July, 
1882,  we  left  for  Paris,  which  boasted  a  splendid  agri- 
cultural college.  There,  upon  investigation,  we  found 
that  only  single  men  could  enter,  as  the  college  was  lo- 
cated a  few  miles  out  of  Paris  and  the  students  lived 
in  dormitories. 

However,  we  learned  soon  after  that  Zurich  in  Swit- 
zerland had  an  excellent  agricultural  college,  and  within 
a  month  we  had  left  Paris  and  reached  Zurich.  Here 
we  found  quite  a  large  and  interesting  colony  of  Rus- 
sian students.  My  husband  soon  passed  his  entrance 
examinations  and  we  settled  down  to  a  three-year  stay. 

It  was  during  his  third  and  last  year  that  my  husband 
wrote  many  articles  on  agriculture  for  the  leading 
newspapers  in  Russia.     These  called  forth  splendid 

18 


FROM   LAW  TO   AGRICULTURE        19 

comment  and  the  practical  result  was  that  a  certain 
Maslinikoff  of  St.  Petersburg,  who  in  later  years 
became  Minister  of  Agriculture,  asked  him  to  write 
editorials  on  farming  for  an  agricultural  paper  which 
he  was  soon  to  publish. 

The  course  completed,  in  the  summer  of  1885  we  re- 
turned to  Odessa,  as  our  friends  in  America,  especially 
the  late  Dr.  Paul  Kaplan,  begged  us  not  to  consider 
emigration  at  this  time.  All  their  dreams  of  coloniza- 
tion had  been  shattered.  A  few  farm  settlements 
formed  in  Oregon  and  Kansas  were  a  total  failure,  and 
the  colonists  were  all  back  in  New  York,  working  in 
various  factories.    So  we  decided  on  Odessa. 

But  even  in  so  simple  a  venture  as  a  journey  back 
home  my  husband  managed  to  achieve  something.  Two 
of  our  friends  in  Zurich,  the  well-known  Pavel  Axel- 
rod  and  George  Plechanov,  were  eager  to  smuggle 
into  Russia  a  pamphlet  which  they  had  written,  and 
which  they  had  no  way  of  sending  and  distributing,  as 
the  watch  on  the  German  frontier  was  sharp.  Russia 
had  made  a  secret  treaty  at  this  time,  by  which  Ger- 
many was  to  arrest  and  deport  any  escaped  Russian 
revolutionists,  and  to  confiscate  any  radical  literature 
that  might  be  sent  through  her  borders  from  England, 
France  or  Switzerland.  By  the  action  of  this  treaty, 
Leo  Deutsch  (a  refugee  well  known  here,  in  America, 
for  the  past  twelve  or  thirteen  years)  was  arrested  on 
the  German  frontier  when  he  left  Zurich  with  a  large 
supply  of  revolutionary  literature,  and  handed  over 


20  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

to  the  Russian  authorities,  who  sentenced  him  to  a 
long  term  of  years  in  Siberia. 

At  this  juncture  Pavel  Axelrod  approached  my  hus- 
band. He  told  him  that  they  had  worked  out  a  clever 
way  of  fooling  the  customs  officials,  if  only  he  would 
be  willing  to  undertake  the  serious  mission.  My  hu»s- 
band  readily  consented. 

This  was  the  plan:  We  had  a  great  many  German 
and  French  scientific  books.  The  bindings  of  these, 
consisting  of  sheets  of  paper  subjected  to  heavy  pres- 
sure and  cloth-covered,  were  torn  off.  The  revolution- 
ary pamphlets  were  then  pressed  together,  covered 
with  binders*  cloth,  and  the  books  re-bound.  As  the 
forbidden  literature  was  printed  on  the  very  finest 
tissue  paper,  whole  editions  were  thus  smuggled  into 
Russia. 

When  we  arrived  at  Odessa  the  customs  officials 
looked  into  our  baggage  and  began  to  examine  the 
trunks  full  of  books.  They  could  not  read  French  or 
German,  however,  so  they  informed  us  that  the  boxes 
with  our  clothes  could  be  sent  forward,  but  that  the 
trunks  containing  books  would  have  to  remain  until 
they  had  been  thoroughly  searched.  My  husband 
would  be  notified,  they  said,  when  they  had  finished 
examining  them. 

The  five  following  days  were  long  and  nerve-wrack- 
ing, as  may  be  imagined ;  but  finally  the  notice  from  the 
Customs  House  came.  Once  more  the  authorities  had 
been  fooled  by  the  shrewdness  of  the  revolutionists! 


FROM   LAW   TO   AGRICULTURE        21 

It  had  never  entered  their  heads  to  rip  open  one  of  the 
bindings;  and  so  my  husband  was  spared  the  prisons 
and  long  years  in  Siberia  that  might  have  been  his  fate, 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  most  of  /the  Russian  customs  offi- 
cials, being  ignorant  men,  were  so  stupid  that  the  wide- 
awake revolutionists  generally  got  the  better  of  them. 
With  a  heart  full  of  satisfaction  and  relief  my  hus- 
band shipped  the  books  home  at  once,  ripped  off  the 
bindings  and  mailed  the  pamphlets  to  their  destina- 
tions, where  they  were  further  distributed  throughout 
Russia  and  Siberia. 

Close  upon  his  return  to  Odessa,  my  husband,  in 
quite  high  glee,  accepted  an  offer  from  Maslinikoff  as 
the  assistant  editor  of  the  forthcoming  agricultural 
paper.  He  waited  impatiently  for  the  assignment,  but, 
instead,  the  newly-edited  paper  arrived  with  my  hus- 
band's article  printed  in  it,  and  a  letter  from  Maslini- 
koff, saying  that  he  was  very  sorry  he  would  not  be 
able  to  have  him  come  to  St.  Petersburg,  as  the  Swiss 
diploma  deprived  him  of  the  right  of  settlement  outside 
the  pale. 

The  blow  was  hard.  The  question  of  a  livelihood 
became  again  of  pressing  importance.  The  money  re- 
ceived for  articles  already  published  had  been  spent 
as  fast  as  it  came.  Not  having  a  Russian  diploma,  my 
husband  could  not  obtain  a  position  as  manager  of  an 
estate,  for  he  was  now  compelled  to  live  only  within  the 
pale.    So  he  turned  to  his  good  old  stand-by — tutoring. 


CHAPTER   IV 

AMONG  THE  DON   COSSACKS 

TN  the  early  spring  of  1888  my  husband  received  a  let- 
ter from  a  Professor  Kusnetzoff ,  the  director  of  a 
teachers'  seminary  in  the  Caucasus,  in  Eastern  Russia, 
saying  he  had  read  my  husband's  articles  in  Agricul- 
ture; that  he  was  very  much  interested  in  them  and  in 
the  man  who  wrote  them ;  that  he  had  a  big  estate  thirty 
versts  from  Yiesk ;  and  that  he  would  be  very  glad  to 
secure  my  husband's  services  as  manager  of  the  estate. 

Remembering  his  sad  experience  with  Mr.  Maslini- 
koff,  editor  of  Agriculture,  my  husband  answered 
Professor  Kusnetzoff,  asking  him  whether  he  realized 
that  it  was  a  Jew  to  whom  he  was  offering  the  position. 
An  answer  came  back  stating  that  he  "was  above  the 
question  of  race  and  creed."  He  "put  character  and 
manhood  above  all,"  he  said,  "and  if  willing  to  take 
the  position,  nobody  need  ever  interfere  with  you  in  any 
way."  He  offered  him  six  hundred  rubles  a  year,  with 
full  maintenance  for  himself  and  family. 

Always  a  man  to  whom  money  was  distinctly  a 
means  and  never  an  end  in  itself,  my  husband  was  well 
satisfied  with  the  terms.  Often  have  I  heard  him  give 
expression  to  the  freedom  that  he  felt  when  his  earn- 
ings were  well  disposed  of — ^his  monthly  check  sent  to 

22 


AMONG   THE   DON   COSSACKS         23 

his  mother;  and  later  on  to  an  older  widowed  sister, 
and  his  own  modest  requirements  paid  for.  He  would 
then  say,  gratefully,  as  one  relieved  of  a  burden:  "No 
more  money,  no  more  worry !  I  have  given  it  all  where 
it  belongs/* 

In  accepting  the  offer  from  the  Caucasus  he  was  only 
too  happy  at  the  opportunity  to  do  the  work  he  had 
been  preparing  himself  for  in  the  previous  three  years. 

In  March,  1886,  my  husband,  our  little  daughter 
Marie  and  I  left  for  Yiesk,  a  town  east  of  Rostov,  on 
the  border  of  the  Caucasus — the  very  heart  of  the 
country  of  the  Don  Cossacks.  The  estate  consisted  of 
about  2,000  acres  of  land.  Parts  of  it  were  sub-leased 
to  Letts,  who  had  emigrated  from  Lapland  several  dec- 
ades before,  and  the  rest  to  the  native  Cossacks.  My 
husband's  mission  was  to  bring  the  land  that  had  been 
sub-leased  to  a  higher  degree  of  cultivation.  The 
property  was  laid  out  mainly  in  small  fruit  orchards, 
yielding  apples,  pears,  plums  and  grapes,  and  in  large 
fields  of  rye,  wheat  and  corn. 

As  soon  as  we  arrived  at  the  estate,  a  three-room 
house  was  built  for  us,  and  in  this  we  bestowed  our- 
selves comfortably  and  hopefully. 

My  husband's  public-spiritedness,  which  played  so 
great  a  part  in  his  nature,  showed  itself  immediately. 
First  he  called  together  all  the  tenants  of  the  estate 
under  his  management  and  informed  them  that  his 
knowledge  was  at  their  service;  that  he  was  always 
ready,  nay,  eager  to  give  them  advice  in  whatever  ca- 


24  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

pacity  tKey  needed  it — agricultural  adviice  above  all. 
That  whole  summer,  with  one-half  dozen  men,  he 
worked  hard  to  improve  the  soil,  the  shrubs,  the  crops 
— not  only  to  make  them  profitable,  but  to  make  of  this 
big  farm  a  model  for  his  tenants  and  for  all  the  farmers 
in  the  neighborhood,  far  and  wide.  He  was  the 
broadly  enlightened  agriculturist  who  knew  of  the 
latest  and  best  ways  of  tilling  the  soil,  among  a  very 
ignorant  and  backward  peasantry.  From  near  and  far 
they  began  to  come  to  him  for  advice.  The  very  first 
year  showed  good  results  from  his  improved  methods. 
The  peasants  took  eager  note  of  it  and  his  name  was  on 
everyone's  lips. 

The  hard  summer  and  fall  season  over,  my  husband 
started  a  course  of  lectures  on  "The  Right  Way  of 
Tilling  the  Soil."  Peasants  would  come,  rain  or  shine, 
with  their  wives  and  grown-up  sons  and  daughters, 
often  from  versts  and  versts  around.  The  big  empty 
barn  saw  life.  It  was  crowded  to  its  full  capacity  with 
peasants,  very  eager  to  learn  and  to  devour  every  word. 
And  after  the  lectures  were  over,  the  farmers  would 
talk  about  many  a  topic  of  the  day,  hurling  question 
after  question  at  my  husband,  so  that  time  and  again  it 
would  be  well  after  midnight  before  the  gatherings 
broke  up.  These  gatherings  took  place  Saturday  eve- 
nings, and  eagerly  did  the  neighbors  wait  for  those 
Saturdays  to  come!  What  a  source  of  enlightenment 
it  was  for  them!  If  any  of  the  tenants  and  neighbors 
knew,  or  even  surmised,  that  the  man  they  grew  to  be 


AMONG  THE   DON    COSSACKS         25 

so  fond  of,  the  man  they  looked  up  to  as  a  true  friend, 
the  man  they  could  go  to  in  any  kind  of  trouble,  and 
who  always  not  only  lent  them  a  sympathetic  ear,  but 
stretched  out  the  hand  of  friendship  and  helped  remove 
whatever  obstacle  was  in  their  way, — if,  I  say,  these 
men  surmised  that  the  manager  was  a  Jew,  they  never 
in  any  way  made  us  feel  it.  They  all  felt  too  great  an 
admiration  for  the  Christlike  kindliness  of  the  man; 
and  this  they  soon  had  additional  cause  to  value. 

That  very  winter  diphtheria  broke  out  among  the 
children  in  one  of  the  villages  about  three  miles  from 
our  estate,  and  in  a  few  days  nearly  all  the  children 
were  victims  of  the  terrible  pestilence.  The  ignorance 
of  the  peasants  was  unbounded.  The  only  doctor  they 
had  was  a  quack,  who  lived  many  miles  away.  As  soon 
as  my  husband  heard  of  the  trouble,  he  drove  to  the 
stricken  village.  He  found  no  quarantine  whatever. 
The  sick  and  the  well,  young  and  old,  slept  in  one  large 
bed  in  the  one  room,  where  also  were  herded  for  pro- 
tection from  the  bitter  cold  the  new-born  calf  and 
lamb,  the  ducks  and  chickens,  all  huddled  together 
as  was  quite  customary.  And  the  windows  were 
kept  tightly  shut!  The  stifling  air  and  the  condition 
of  the  room  may  be  imagined ! 

The  first  thing  my  husband  did  was  to  drive  over 
to  Yiesk,  the  nearest  town,  which  was  very  fortunate 
in  having  a  physician  it  could  call  its  own.  This  man 
was  a  true  friend  of  the  peasant  and  the  poor  laboring 
man.    He  was  the  leading  spirit  of  every  progressive 


26  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

undertaking  in  that  town  and  had  become  a  devoted 
friend  of  my  husband's,  who  knew  that  he  would  find  a 
responsive  chord  in  the  doctor's  heart.  He  had  no 
trouble  in  bringing  him  back  at  once,  with  all  the  neces- 
sary medicines.  They  separated  the  dangerously  sick 
from  those  who  could  be  saved,  and  together  they  did 
whatever  could  be  done  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the 
malady.  Of  the  .twenty-two  children  in  this  village, 
only  seven  survived. 

A  week  later  my  husband  started  a  course  of  lec- 
tures on  "Health  and  Sanitation,"  the  doctor  friend 
helping  him  with  material  for  the  lectures.  A  collec- 
tion was  taken  up  from  all  the  families  in  the  neighbor- 
ing villages,  and  a  supply  of  necessary  drugs  was  pur- 
chased and  installed  in  each. 

Exceedingly  interesting  were  these  two  years  we 
spent  far  away  from  civilization,  but  in  close  touch 
with  people  for  whom  we  could  do  so  much.  There 
was  work  for  me  to  do,  as  well  as  my  husband,  for 
while  he  was  away  lecturing  and  talking  to  the  older 
folk,  I  taught  the  youngsters  reading  and  arithmetic. 
There  was  no  school  anywhere  within  miles. 

A  few  glimpses  of  the  standards  and  character  of 
the  people  among  whom  we  lived  may  be  in  place  here. 
They  were  a  mixture  of  Letts  and  of  Don  Cossacks, 
freely  intermarried.  Often,  on  Sunday  afternoon,  my 
husband  and  I  would  sit  on  the  steps  of  our  bungalow, 
and  several  neighbors,  with  their  families,  young  and 
old,  would  join  us.    I  remember  one  Sunday  afternoon, 


AMONG   THE   DON    COSSACKS         27 

we  were  sitting  and  talking  on  various  topics  of  interest 
to  the  peasants,  and  my  husband  asked  one  of  them 
the  reason  why  nearly  every  peasant — even  those  who 
were  quite  young — ^have  a  second  and  sometimes  a 
third  wife.  The  answer  came:  "Child-birth  and  tlie 
complications  that  often  followed."  These  were,  in 
nearly  every  case,  the  cause  of  death.  And  no  wonder ! 
Whenever  a  woman  gave  birth  to  a  child,  especially  if 
it  happened  during  the  summer  months — during  har- 
vest, when  every  hand  was  needed  in  the  field — ^as  soon 
as  she  had  received  first  aid  from  an  elderly  woman 
neighbor  or  some  quack — a  doctor  was  miles  away  and 
time  too  precious  for  anyone  to  drive  for  him — she  was 
not  only  left  alone,  but  expected  to  take  full  charge 
of  all  the  burdens  of  the  most  primitive  peasant  house- 
hold. And  it  should  be  remembered  that  during  the 
harvest  there  are  two  or  three  extra  men  hired  to  help 
gather  in  the  crops,  and  that  these  are  additional 
mouths  for  her  to  feed.  Naturally  at  times  the  strain 
would  be  too  great  and  she  would  die.  Several  times 
I  was  astonished  to  find  a  woman  who  had  given  birth 
to  a  child  a  day  or  two  previously  at  the  family  wash 
tub,  or  cooking  the  dinner,  or  kneading  the  family 
supply  of  coarse  black  bread,  a  task  Which  alone  would 
tax  the  strength  of  any  man.  So  much  for  the  legend 
about  the  easy  child-birth  of  the  peasant  woman  I 

Once  a  young  peasant,  married  only  two  years,  and 
known  as  quite  a  model  husband,  stepped  in,  and  dur- 
ing our  conversation  asked  me: 


28  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

"How  often  does  your  husband  beat  you?" 

I  caught  my  breath  at  the  question,  but  looking  into 
his  face  saw  that  he  inquired  in  dead  earnest,  and  to 
tell  him  that  my  husband  never  gave  me  a  beating 
would  appear  to  him  a  very  poor  joke  indeed.  So  I 
answered: 

"About  once  a  year.  Sometimes  twice — before  the 
biggest  holidays." 

He  nodded  approvingly.  "You  see,  Barina*'  (Lady), 
he  remarked,  "I  give  my  wife  a  beating  on  or  before 
every  holiday.  (And  in  Russia  they  do  come  very, 
very  often.)  "You  know,"  he  continued,  "the  best  of 
wives  will  never  respect  or  think  much  of  her  man 
unless  he  gives  her  a  sound  beating  now  and  then." 

Among  the  Russian  proverbs  is  one,  and  a  proverb 
usually  tells  the  tale:  "Love  your  wife  as  your  own 
soul,  but  shake  her  like  a  pear  tree." 

I  remember,  however,  the  case  of  a  woman  who 
my  husband  saved  from  a  different  sort  of  beating. 
The  story  will  also  serve  to  show  the  respect  in  which 
the  peasants  held  him.  We  had  one  farmer,  a  Cossack, 
who  was  married  to  a  Lettish  woman.  He  and  his 
family  shared  one  isbah  (cabin)  with  his  father-in- 
law,  a  common  arrangement  among  the  peasants.  The 
old  man  kept  his  savings  of  a  lifetime,  about  one 
thousand  rubles,  in  his  trunk.  Few  of  the  peasants 
were  enlightened  enough  to  keep  their  money  in  a 
bank;  and  the  bank,  in  most  cases,  was  miles  away. 
One  day  the  old  man  found  out  that  the  money— all 


AMONG   THE   DON    COSSACKS         29 

his  savings — was  gone.  His  suspicions  at  once  fell  on 
his  son-in-law,  who  was  a  drunkard,  and  who  beat  his 
wife  not  only  on  or  before  a  holiday  but  whenever  the 
spirit  moved  him — and  that  was  oftener  that  I  should 
like  to  tell.  His  father-in-law  and  his  wife  reproached 
him,  and  in  a  drunken  rage  he  picked  up  an  axe  and 
ran  after  his  wife.  Their  cabin  was  about  a  block 
from  our  bungalow.  She  ran  straight  for  our  house, 
screaming: 

"Save  me!  Save  me!  Petrich  is  at  my  heels  to 
kill  me!*' 

My  husband,  who  was  standing  outside  the  house 
and  saw  from  afar  the  drunkard  running,  pushed  the 
terrified  woman  inside  our  door  and  closed  it  on  her. 
He  himself  stood  there  defenceless  to  meet  the  frenzied 
man.  Seeing  my  husband  so  cool  before  him,  he  seemed 
to  sober  in  a  moment,  and  then  my  husband,  in  a  tense, 
commanding  voice,  exclaimed: 

**Stop,  Petrich!  Have  you  lost  your  mind  to  run 
wild  with  an  axe?    Give  it  to  me  at  once!" 

The  instinctive  awe  and  respect  that  any  peasant  has 
for  authority  won  the  da.y.  As  by  a  miracle,  without 
a  word,  he  handed  the  axe  to  my  husband,  and  the 
woman's  life  was  saved. 

Another  incident  will  show  the  sentiment  of  the 
peasants  towards  my  husband.  The  nephew  whom  my 
grandmother  brought  with  her  on  a  visit,  and  left 
with  us  during  the  winter,  was  an  exceedingly  mis- 
chievous lad  of  twelve.     One  day,  while  playing  in  a 


30  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

peasant's  isbah,  he  approached  the  ikon,  and  cut  off 
the  legs  and  pierced  the  eyes  of  a  picture  of  St.  Nicholas 
that  hung  on  the  wall.  This  was  a  crime  against  re- 
ligion unpardonable,  especially  when  committed  by  a 
Jewish  boy.  In  any  other  part  of  Russia  such  an  act 
would  have  immediately  led  to  a  Pogrom.  As  it  was 
the  peasant  swore  vengeance.  He  was  a  very  bitter 
and  quarrelsoine  man,  so  we  had  reason  to  be  anxious. 
Unhappily,  too,  a  few  days  later,  his  little  daughter, 
a  child  of  six,  became  sick  and  died.  Before  she  fell 
ill,  she  had  had  a  childish  quarrel  with  our  nephew,  and 
he  had  given  her  a  spanking.  And  now  she  was  dead. 
The  peasant  had,  seemingly,  sufficient  reason  for  a 
deep  grudge  against  us. 

While  the  funeral  was  in  full  progress  and  my  hus- 
band entered  the  house  to  offer  our  condolences,  the 
father  of  the  girl  stood  up,  and  amid  a  dead  silence 
exclaimed,  pointing  at  my  husband: 

"His  nephew,  the  Jew,  killed  my  child!" 

The  situation  was  critical,  but  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  respected  men  among  them  rose  and  said: 

"Michailich,  have  you  a  heart?  Have  you  no  fear 
of  God?  This  is  not  the  time  to  wrangle.  Besides, 
we  all  know  Gregory  Konstantinovich  too  well  and 
know  what  he  has  done  and  is  doing  for  all  of  us  to 
lay  blame  to  him.  What  troubles  are  you  brewing?  If 
his  nephew  did  wrong,  we  will  see  to  it  later.  Let  us 
proceed,  and  do  not  let  us  defame  the  holy  services  of 
the  funeral  further." 


AMONG   THE   DON    COSSACKS         31 

By  the  nodding  of  the  heads  of  all  present  one  could 
see  that  they  were  in  full  accord  with  the  sentiments 
expressed  by  their  elder.  Thus  a  situation  that  might 
have  ended  tragically  was  relieved. 

I  recall  also  another  Sunday  afternoon.  The  sun 
is  sinking  low,  shedding  its  last  glorious  rays  on  the 
large  orchard  before  us,  and  gilding  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach  the  full  ripe  ears  of  corn,  rye  and  wheat. 
From  afar  the  bleating  of  the  flock  is  heard — the  shep- 
herds bringing  it  in.  Soon  the  white  masses  of  the 
sheep  are  seen  huddled  against  the  sky.  Nearer  and 
nearer  they  come — the  whole  large  field  covered 
thickly,  as  with  a  snowy  weed.  The  flaming  tops  of  the 
golden  grain  furnish  a  rich  foreground.  Among  the 
dim  masses  we  can  soon  distinguish  the  figures  of  the 
shepherds  and  hear  their  songs  and  cries  mingled  with 
the  bleating  of  the  flock.  Closer  and  closer  comes  the 
weird  music  of  the  balalaikas — the  rich  sound  of  the 
concertina.  The  songs,  the  instruments,  the  whistling, 
the  bleating  of  the  sheep  all  produce  a  confused  but 
intense  harmony.  The  setting  sun,  the  thousands  of 
shifting,  surging  bodies,  the  sun-kissed  grain  seem 
to  make  up  a  huge  stage-setting,  depicting  the  pastoral 
life  of  these  simple  peasants.  That  scene  has  left  an 
impression  on  me  which  lasts  to  this  day. 

To  add  to  the  brilliance  of  the  picture,  both  the  men 
and  the  women  had  their  best  Sunday  clothes  on.  The 
women  wore  their  gay-colored,  four-yard-wide  short 
skirts,   with  the  blouses  of   snowy- white  homespun 


32  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

linen,  low-necked,  wide-sleeved,  richly  embroidered  in 
blue  and  red  cross-stitch  work.  Each  had  a  wide, 
bright  sash  about  her  waist,  and  on  her  bosom  beads 
of  every  color,  every  description,  row  on  row.  To 
complete  the  richness  and  gaiety  of  that  national  cos- 
tume there  were  ribbons — some  of  them  fastening 
the  long  braids  of  hair  that  hung  down  the  back, 
and  some  going  to  tie  up  the  beads.  Never  was  there 
a  more  brilliant  and  tantalizing  display  of  color.  The 
men  in  their  Sunday  attire  were  a  fine  sight  too — 
short  breeches  of  cloth  or  velvet  tucked  into  the  high 
boots;  over  the  breeches  a  gay  red  shirt,  buttoned  on 
one  side  (called,  for  that  reason,  koso-vorotko) ;  a 
bright  girdle  giving  additional  dash  of  color ;  and,  to 
complete  the  costume,  a  high  cap  which  only  the  Don 
Cossacks  wear  in  Russia,  and  which  only  they  know 
how  to  wear! 

The  ensemble  was  so  enchanting  that.  Inspired  by 
it,  my  husband  asked  a  girl  and  boy  of  about  seven- 
teen, who  were  known  as  good  dancers,  to  dance  for 
us.  Everybody  was  glad  to  do  what  would  please 
Gregory  Konstantinovich.  So,  some  of  the  shepherds 
passing  by  with  their  instruments  were  called,  and  then 
we  saw  the  real  Russian  dance.  The  girl  and  boy  were 
beautiful  types  of  the  Don  Cossack — pure,  unmixed 
blood  was  theirs.  Tall,  graceful,  with  the  athletic 
vigor  that  only  ever-outdoor  life  can  give,  their  faces 
strong  and  handsome  with  the  traits  that  centuries  of 
warrior   forefathers   had   impressed   upon   them,    in 


AMONG   THE   DON    COSSACKS         33 

richly  colored  national  costume,  they  presented  an 
unforgettable  picture.  Nearby,  in  front  of  the  big 
bam,  was  a  platform.  We  settled  ourselves  around  it. 
Then,  to  the  music  of  concertinas,  mouth-organs  and 
balalaikas,  accompanied  by  whistling  and  singing  and 
clapping  of  hands  from  the  whole  crowd,  they  started. 
I  have  seen  many  a  dancer  in  later  years,  but  the 
pagan  grace  and  joy  of  life  expressed  in  every  move- 
ment— the  dash,  the  fire,  the  wonderful  setting  Nature 
provided,  has  never,  to  my  mind,  been  excelled  or 
equalled. 

But  the  pleasant  memories  of  our  life  among  the 
peasants  draw  to  a  close. 

Ten  miles  away,  in  a  neighboring  stanitza,  as  the 
Cossack  villages  are  called,  lived  the  old  father  of 
the  man  who  owned  the  estate.  He  was  an  orthodox 
priest.  He  had  been  taught  that  the  Jews  had  killed 
Jesus  Christ;  that  the  Jews  were  a  far  inferior  race; 
that  the  Jews  kill  innocent  Christian  children  and  use 
their  blood  to  make  Passover  matzos;  that  all  Jews 
were  usurers;  and  such  other  ugly  distortions  of  fact 
as  the  Russian  Government  could  use  to  fling  among 
the  dark,  ignorant  masses  of  people,  to  avert  their 
attention  from  the  real  causes  of  trouble. 

To  this  old  priest  every  Jew  was  a  most  hateful 
person.  Besides,  long  before  he  found  out  that  my 
husband  was  a  Jew,  he  developed  a  grudge  against 
him.  It  was  the  old  man*s  custom  to  come  to  the 
estate  and  carry  away  loads  of  fruit,  vegetables,  corn 


34  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

and  whatever  he  could  lay  his  hands  on.  He  expected 
to  do  the  same  thing  while  my  husband  was  the  man- 
ager on  his  son's  estate.  Now,  while  my  husband  was 
perfectly  willing  to  let  him  have  a  reasonable  quan- 
tity of  the  produce  for  his  home  table,  lie  would  not 
allow  an  extravagant  robbing  of  the  farms,  as  he  had 
to  show  the  owner  the  practical  results  of  his  farming 
methods.    A  clash  could  hardly  be  avoided. 

It  happened  that  my  husband's  grandmother  de- 
cided to  come  and  visit  us,  and  she  set  out  without 
informing  us  beforehand.  She  stopped  at  the  stanitza, 
at  the  priest's  house,  to  inquire  how  to  reach  her 
grandson.  Then  only  did  he  find  out  that  the  man 
who  was  managing  his  son's  estate  was  a  Jew.  This 
was  more  than  his  pious  Christian  soul  could  bear. 
He  began  to  bombard  his  son  with  letters,  imploring 
him  to  consider  what  he  was  doing,  begging  him  to 
think  of  his  soul — ^his  after-life.  And  although  his 
son  had  written  to  my  husband  again  and  again  to 
tell  him  how  much  he  was  pleased  with  the  improve- 
ments and  the  results  obtained  in  so  short  a  time  from 
his  methods;  how  much  he  appreciated  the  splendid 
relation  between  my  husband,  the  tenants  and  all  the 
neighboring  villagers,  yet  the  pasjsionaite,  incessant 
appeals  of  the  father  to  his  son  had  their  effect. 

In  February,  1887,  with  our  two  daughters,  Marie 
and  Vera,  we  left  for  America.  The  two  experiences, 
one  with  the  editor  of  Agriculture,  and  the  other 
with  the  owner  of  the  Caucasus  estate,  showed  my 


AMONG   THE    DON    COSSACKS         35 

husband  clearly  that  with  his  profession  he  could  have 
no  place  in  Russia.  In  June,  1887,  on  the  steamer 
"Fulda,"  with  two  thousand  rubles  given  us  by  my 
mother,  we  arrived  in  New  York.  Dr.  Kaplan  and  a 
few  other  friends  met  us  at  Castle  Garden, 


CHAPTER   V 

FACING  THE  NEW  WORLD 

/^^AN  you  imagine  all  the  hopes  and  dreams  that 
^^  were  fluttering  in  our  hearts  on  our  arrival? 

Yet  the  first  encouraging  words  of  our  friend  Kap- 
lan were: 

"For  God's  sake,  why  did  you  come  here?  I  sent 
two  letters  imploring  you  to  remain  at  home!" 

We  had  left,  however,  before  his  letters  reached  us. 
Not  that  it  would  have  made  any  difference  if  we  had 
received  them.    We  had  no  choice  but  to  emigrate. 

A  cousin  of  mine,  a  photographer  named  Solomon 
Kaufman,  was  among  those  who  waited  for  us  on 
arrival.  He  took  us  to  his  home  on  Eldridge  Street, 
where  he,  his  wife,  their  baby  and  a  boarder  were  living 
in  a  two-room  flat. 

I  must  mention  here  a  singular  incident  in  which  a 
fellow-passenger  of  ours  played  a  chief  part.  With 
us  on  the  steamer  was  a  Pole  who  my  husband  had 
befriended  on  the  trip.  As  he  had  not  a  soul  to  go  to, 
my  cousin  very  kindly  offered  him  hospitality  for  a 
few  days,  until  he  should  find  himself.  On  the  follow- 
ing day  the  young  Pole  left  the  house,  saying  that 
he  was  going  out  for  a  stroll.  That  was  the  very  last 
we  ever  saw  or  heard  of  him.    His  valise  and  his  few 

36 


FACING   THE   NEW   WORLD  37 

belongings  were  never  claimed.  He  must  have  been 
lost  trying  to  find  his  way  home.  The  confusing  same- 
ness of  the  streets  and  houses  must  have  misled  him, 
and  owing  to  his  inability  to  speak  either  English  or 
Jewish,  he  was  swallowed  up  in  the  mammoth  city. 
All  our  search  for  him  was  fruitless.  Whoever  has 
read  that  wonderful  story  of  Korolenko*s  "After 
Bread,"  will  remember  that  the  plot  deals  with  a  very 
similar  incident,  except  that  there  the  central  figure 
is  a  girl. 

We  stayed  for  several  days  at  my  cousin's,  who 
did  his  utmost  to  make  us  comfortable.  The  first 
evening  the  little  flat  was  breathlessly  hot.  When  bed- 
time came,  my  cousin,  draping  herself  in  a  sheet  and 
taking  a  pillow  in  his  hand,  casually  remarked  that  he 
and  his  boarder  were  going  up  to  the  roof  to  sleep, 
and  if  we  wished,  we  could  follow  him,  as  it  really  was 
airier  there!  It  looked  so  novel — ^so  funny  to  me, 
that  we  decided  to  follow  his  example.  And  when, 
wrapped  in  sheets,  our  pillows  in  hand,  we  reached 
the  roof,  we  saw,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  white 
figures  stretched  out  on  all  the  adjoining  roofs.  Cer- 
tainly it  would  have  been  stifling  to  sleep  indoors,  so, 
after  another  laugh,  I  settled  down  to  the  good  night's 
rest  which  our  fatigue  insured  us. 

A  few  nights  later,  when  we  went  to  sleep  at  another 
friend's  place,  Krimonts,  the  same  funny  thing  hap- 
pened. Towards  midnight,  young  and  old,  wrapped  in 
white  sheets,  made  a  procession  toward  the  roof.  These 


38  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

friends  of  mine  had  another  trouble.  They  did  not 
know  how  to  get  rid  of  the  bedbugs  which  were  thick 
in  the  walls.  They  were  of  exceedingly  careful  habits, 
and  kept  their  rooms  scrupulously  clean,  but  it  seemed 
that  only  the  burning  of  the  tenement  they  lived  in 
would  have  saved  them  from  the  pest. 

We  had  been  just  a  week  in  America  when  an 
older  brother  of  my  husband's,  whom  he  had  helped 
to  escape  from  military  service  in  Russia  and  had 
sent  off  to  America  with  the  second  party  of  the  ''Ant- 
Ohlom"  heard  of  our  arrival  in  New  York.  He  was 
living  in  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  where  he  had  a 
small  picture-frame  store.  He  came  to  see  us  and 
advised  my  husband  to  take  his  family  and  go  with 
him  to  Pittsfield,  '^sich  ausgeriinen''  as  he  remarked. 
The  following  day  we  left  for  Pittsfield.  My  husband 
became  the  utility  man  in  his  brother's  picture  store. 

The  rapidity  with  which  he  learned  English  is 
worthy  of  mention.  His  brother  and  his  brother's 
friends,  who  were  nearly  all  illiterate  men,  were 
amazed  that  a  man  only  a  week  in  this  country  should 
read  the  English-printed  papers  and  understand  the 
gist  of  them  as  well  as  they,  who  were  five  years  in 
the  country.  It  seemed  miraculous  to  them.  But 
a  man  who  had  had  six  or  seven  years  of  Latin,  Greek, 
German  and  French  would  naturally  read  English  and 
understand  it  without  much  effort.  For  two  weeks 
my  husband  helped  to  make  picture  frames,  and  made 
himself  generally  useful  about  the  store.    .But  his 


FACING   THE   NEW   WORLD  39 

education,  particularly  his  knowledge  of  chemistry, 
made  him  feel  he  could  use  his  abilities  to  better  ad- 
vantage. His  brother  suggested  peddling  matches,  say- 
ing that,  to  his  knowledge,  every  successful  man  in 
America  had  started  just  that  way. 

If  peddling  was  the  first  step  necessary  to  success, 
my  husband  was  willing  to  try  it ;  only  he  thought  he 
would  apply  his  knowledge  to  it.  He  bought  all  nec- 
essary chemicals  from  a  traveling  peddler  and  bottles 
of  all  kinds  and  sizes,  many  of  them  far  from  dainty 
and  beautiful.  What  was  his  idea?  On  our  big 
kitchen  stove  he  began  to  make  perfumes!  Several 
unexpected  explosions  occurred,  one  of  which  set  the 
chimney  afire.  In  the  chimney,  as  it  happened,  we 
kept  our  official  papers  and  documents.  They  were 
all  burned. 

In  about  three  weeks,  after  all  kinds  of  difficulties, 
after  various  experiments  and  failures,  during  which 
both  he  and  the  house  v/ere  in  lively  danger  of  being 
burned,  he  had  a  stock  of  perfumes  ready  to  sell.  To 
peddle  his  own  manufactured  goods  was  much  more 
dignified  than  to  sell  matches,  my  husband  felt. 

Pittsfield  had  many  factory  villages  on  its  out- 
skirts. With  a  newly  purchased  satchel,  heavily  laden 
with  his  bottles,  he  set  out  to  dispose  of  his  perfumes. 
In  his  fine  European  suit  of  clothes,  with  his  intel- 
ligent face  and  refined,  gentle,  sympathetic  manner, 
he  made  a  striking  appearance.  The  people  were 
used  to  seeing  pack  peddlers,  but  never  a  peddler  who 


40  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

looked  like  that  before!  From  factory  to  factory, 
from  village  to  village  he  walked.  Hardly  ever  did 
anybody  refuse  to  buy,  and  he  would  come  home  ex- 
hausted, with  an  empty  valise.  Still,  after  two  months 
of  very  hard  work  he  found  that  he  could  not  provide 
suitably  for  himself  and  his  family. 

Meanwhile  our  friends  had  written  us  advising  us 
to  return  to  New  York  City.  They  had  heard  of 
the  wonderful  success  my  husband  was  making  in 
manufacturing  and  selling  perfumes.  The  five  months 
of  our  stay  in  Pittsfield  had,  indeed,  been  beneficial 
in  one  way.  We  lived  there  among  Americans  only, 
and  nolens  volens  we  had  to  speak  English;  so  that, 
in  the  five  months  we  learned  to  converse  in  that  lan- 
guage. Back  to  New  York  now  my  husband  went  in 
search  of  work.  After  fruitless  wandering  for  two 
weeks,  he  was  told  by  a  friend,  studying  at  Columbia 
University — that  same  Dr.  Kaplan — that  one  Henry 
Rice  was  looking  for  a  chemistry  tutor  for  his  son. 
My  husband  went  to  see  Mr.  Rice,  whose  son  was  to 
be  prepared  for  the  Columbia  entrance  examination. 
Everything  was  comfortably  settled,  when  the  ques- 
tion of  a  laboratory  came  up.  Fortunately  Dr.  Kaplan 
knew  a  professor,  Baron  de  Taube,  a  Russian  by  birth, 
who  kept  a  private  preparatory  school  for  boys.  My 
husband  went  to  see  him,  and  Baron  de  Taube  was 
more  than  pleased  to  allow  the  use  of  his  laboratory. 
So  the  very  next  day  the  agreement  with  Mr.  Rice  to 
prepare  his  son  for  college,  teaching  him  daily  from 


FACING   THE   NEW   WORLD  41 

ten  to  twelve,  was  made,  for  the  princely  sum  of  ten 
dollars  a  week. 

It  seemed  wealth  to  us  then.  The  two  thousand 
rubles  that  we  had  brought  with  us  when  we  came  to 
America  were  gone.  Before  the  pupil  in  chemistry 
appeared  the  world  had  looked  quite  dark  for  us.  We 
were  at  rock  bottom.  Dr.  Solotaroff,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  members  of  the  "Defence  League"  and  of 
the  "Am-Ohlom,"  and  who  was  very  fond  of  my  hus- 
band, found  out  at  that  time  that  we  were  in  New  York. 
(He  had  been  living  with  his  parents  in  Cincinnati 
when  we  first  arrived.)  As  soon  as  he  could  discover 
our  address,  he  came  to  see  us,  unfortunately  at  a  time 
when  there  was  neither  bread  nor  sugar  nor  tea  nor 
kerosene  in  the  house.  We  had  no  food  of  any  kind 
left,  and  we  were  thinking  of  pawning  some  of  our 
jewelry.  Although  as  students  in  Zurich  we  had  very 
often  pawned  our  jewelry  and  silver  to  help  needy 
friends,  this  was  the  first  time  we  had  faced  doing 
so  for  ourselves.  Dr.  Solotaroff  had  last  seen  us  at 
our  wedding,  in  my  father's  beautiful  home  in  Odessa, 
where  everything  spoke  not  only  of  comfort,  but  of 
luxury.  He  was  of  an  exceedingly  emotional  nature. 
He  burst  into  tears,  but,  finally  controlling  himself,  he 
left  the  house.  He  soon  returned  with  bread  and 
sugar  and  tea  and  cuts  of  cold  meat.  We  had  a  feast 
indeed.  This  timely  help  was  enough  to  bridge  over 
the  bad  days.  Within  a  week  my  husband  began  to 
teach  and  the  wolf  was  kept  from  the  door. 


42  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

Meanwhile  Dr.  Solotaroff  wrote  a  letter  to  a  friend 
of  his,  Professor  Warden,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  Vice- 
President  of  the  American  Chemical  Society,  about  Mr. 
Sabsovich  and  his  qualifications  as  an  agricultural 
chemist.  Dr.  Warden  replied,  saying  that  my  husband 
was  just  the  sort  of  man  who  could  readily  be  em- 
ployed in  one  of  the  thirty-nine  agricultural  experiment 
stations  being  opened  with,  but  independent  of,  the 
State  agricultural  colleges.  He  enclosed  the  names 
and  addresses  of  all  the  directors  who  were  to  be  in 
charge  of  these  stations.  Our  friend  came  to  us  after 
college  hours — ^he  was  a  medical  student  at  the  time — 
and  wrote  letters  for  us  to  the  various  directors,  until 
all  had  been  applied  to.  A  few  days  later  answers 
began  to  pour  in.  Some  few  laboratories  were  already 
opened;  others  were  just  about  to  be  opened;  some 
were  being  built;  others  had  not  yet  been  started. 
However,  the  correspondence  soon  narrowed  down 
to  five  directors  of  existing  laboratories. 

In  connection  with  these  applications  a  funny  inci- 
dent took  place.  While  being  interviewed  by  the  direc- 
tor of  the  Geneva  (N.  Y.)  Experiment  Station,  who 
he  met  at  the  Astor  House,  my  husband  was  asked: 
"What  are  your  ambitions?"  He  answered:  "Why, 
I  have  no  ambitions."  Undoubtedly  the  head  of  the 
Geneva  Laboratory  must  have  been  puzzled  by  this 
reply.  My  husband  took  the  word  "ambition"  in  the 
sense  that  the  Russian  intelligentsia  understood  it, 
namely,  as  greed  for  conquest,  getting  ahead  at  any 


FACING   THE   NEW    WORLD  43 

price,  at  any  cost.  When  next  he  met  Dr.  Solotaroff 
and  Dr.  Kaplan  and  told  them  of  the  strange  question 
and  the  answer  he  had  given,  they  roared  with  laugh- 
ter. They  had  been  in  the  country  for  five  years,  and 
knew  in  just  what  sense  the  word  "ambition**  is  inter- 
preted by  an  American. 

We  had  a  wide  circle  of  friends  in  New  York,  who 
met  each  other  frequently  for  one  purpose  or  another. 
Occasionally  a  dance  was  given  for  some  cause  we 
were  interested  in,  and  lectures  delivered  on  various 
subjects.  When  the  night  of  our  first  dance  arrived 
my  husband  insisted  that  I  go  to  it  with  our  friends; 
he  wouldn't  have  me  miss  that  pleasure,  but  would  stay 
at  home  with  the  children;  saying  that  he  would  go 
to  the  lectures,  and  that  would  be  a  fair  division.  But 
when  a  very  interesting  lecture  came  up,  he  would  sur- 
prise me  by  having  some  friend  stay  with  the  children, 
explaining: 

"Not  for  the  world  would  I  go  alone  and  have  you 
miss  this  pleasure!" 

He  was  a  home  body  primarily  and  liked  best,  after 
the  day's  work  was  over,  to  stay  there,  seated  in  a 
comfortable  chair,  with  a  book  as  his  companion.  He 
liked  now  and  then  to  visit  a  friend,  or  to  go  to  the 
theatre,  or  to  a  dance  given  by  the  community.  But 
to  have  a  few  intimates  in  his  own  home,  and  to  dis- 
cuss matters  with  them  until  the  small  hours  of  the 
morning,  was  his  chief  delight. 

I  well  remember  that  spring  of  1887.    We  lived  in 


44  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

86th  Street,  near  the  East  River.     The  boys — Dr. 
Solotaroff,  Dr.  Kaplan,  the  late  Nickolai  Aleinikoff 

and  others — ^would  come  for  a  week-end  to  the  country 

— 86th  Street! — ^to  visit  us.     At  one  or  two  a.  m. 

I  would  leave  them  still  discussing  some  book,  some 

philosophic    theory,    or    interesting   question    of    the 

day. 

In  May  young  Mr.  Rice  successfully  passed  his 
chemistry  examinations  for  Columbia,  and  the  lessons 
ceased.  Fortunately,  within  a  very  few  days  a  letter 
came  from  Dr.  O'Brien,  director  of  the  Fort  Collins 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  with  whom  my  hus- 
band had  been  in  correspondence  for  several  months. 
He  was  asked  whether  he  could  come  to  Fort  Collins 
in  a  week's  time,  and,  if  so,  to  wire  his  conditions. 
Dr.  O'Brien  was  going  to  be  married  and  wanted  an 
assistant  at  once.  Then  the  question  arose:  How  and 
where  was  my  husband  to  get  the  money  for  the 
journey  to  Colorado,  not  to  mention  what  must  be  left 
for  his  family  until  the  first  check  could  be  drawn? 
My  husband  had  met  Mr.  Rice  several  times,  and  felt 
that  he  could  go  and  talk  to  him.  So  he  showed  him 
Dr.  O'Brien's  letter. 

"You  certainly  are  not  going  to  turn  down  such  an 
offer,  are  you?"  said  Mr.  Rice. 

"Certainly  not,  if  I  can  borrow  the  money  to  get 
there,  and  leave  some  for  my  family  here,"  answered 
my  husband. 

"Oh,  that's  all  right !    Just  name  the  sum,  and  don't 


FACING   THE   NEW   WORLD  45 

worry  about  the  rest,"  assured  our  new  friend,  handing 

my  husband  $250. 

On  his  way  home  my  husband  wired  Dr.  O'Brien: 
"$1,000  a  year.    Will  arrive  at  Fort  Collins  within 

a  week." 


CHAPTER   VI 

PIONEERING    WITH    PIONEERS 

TITTHEN  Mr.  Sabsovich  reached  Fort  Collins  Dr. 
^      O'Brien  left  on  a  three  weeks'  honeymoon. 

My  husband  was  in  full  charge  of  the  laboratory. 
Having  been  but  one  year  in  the  country  he  had  not 
yet  a  perfect  command  of  the  language,  and  was  not 
quite  sure  whether  his  interpretations  would  be  always 
exact.  He  had  engaged  in  chemical  analysis  only 
while  he  was  a  student  and  not  since  that  time.  Thus, 
being  of  a  very  shy  nature,  it  suited  him  admirably  to 
be  left  entirely  alone  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  work. 

During  those  three  weeks  he  worked  for  Dr.  O'Brien 
fifteen  hours  daily,  Sundays  included,  until  he  found 
he  had  a  full  grasp  of  the  work.  When  his  chief  re- 
turned he  could  not  compliment  his  new  assistant  suffi- 
ciently on  the  splendid  results  obtained  in  the  analyses 
of  soils,  foods,  and  so  on;  apart  from  the  look  of  the 
laboratory  in  general.  The  biggest  thing  was  now 
accomplished.  My  husband  felt  at  ease,  for  he  knew 
then  that  he  could  handle  the  work. 

Six  weeks  later  my  two  daughters,  Marie  and  Vera, 
and  I  joined  him  in  Colorado.  We  found  a  nice  little 
home,  one  or  two  blocks  away  from  the  College,  and 
furnished  it  on  the  instalment  plan  with  monthly  pay- 

46 


PIONEERING   WITH    PIONEERS        47 

ments  of  six  dollars.  Twelve  dollars  went  back  each 
month,  to  pay  off  the  $250  so  kindly  lent  to  us,  and 
about  eight  dollars  regularly  to  my  husband's  mother. 
We  still  had  about  $35  a  month  left  for  our  table. 
We  had  plenty  of  wearing  apparel,  brought  with  us 
from  Russia,  and,  considering  the  cost  of  living  in  a 
small  Western  town,  or  rather  village,  over  thirty 
years  ago,  we  managed  to  get  along  quite  comfortably. 

Life  was  very  pleasant,  and,  on  the  whole,  inter- 
esting in  this  small  college  town.  We  were  made  wel- 
come in  the  college  colony,  and  soon  felt  at  home  with 
our  neighbors.  That  winter  my  husband  suggested  to 
some  members  of  the  staff  the  organization  of  a  club, 
to  be  called:  "You  and  I,"  where  once  a  week  the 
members  (everybody  eligible)  would  come  together  and 
discuss  topics  of  the  day,  sometimes  having  a  little 
music  or  a  sociable.  The  suggestion  was  taken  up, 
the  club  organized,  and  we  spent  many  a  pleasant 
evening  that  way. 

On  March  18th  our  third  daughter,  Nellie,  was  born, 
and  in  May,  very  dear  friends  of  ours,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Moses  Livshis,  who  had  settled  as  farmers  in  Kansas, 
about  180  miles  from  Topeka,  wrote  to  us,  saying  they 
had  a  large  farm  on  which  they  were  raising  cattle. 
They  told  us  how  wonderful  their  prospects  were,  and 
that  if  my  husband  wanted  to  save  a  little  money,  it 
would  be  a  good  idea  to  send  his  family  to  the  farm. 
The  living  would  cost  next  to  nothing,  as  we  would 
have  to  pay  only  for  the  groceries.    Anything  that  the 


48  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

farm  raised  would  not  count  at  all,  and  whatever 
money  my  husband  could  save  would  be  used  to  buy 
cattle  and  give  him  an  interest  in  the  ranch. 

The  farmer's  wife  and  I  had  been  girlhood  chums. 
For  my  husband,  therefore,  the  attraction  was  not  the 
saving  part,  but  my  joy  in  visiting  a  friend  whom  I 
had  not  seen  for  many  years.  We  tried  that  plan 
during  the  summer,  but  late  in  the  fall  the  children  and 
I  returned  to  Fort  Collins,  as  my  husband  couldn't 
stand  the  separation  from  his  family  any  longer. 

I  must  mention  here  one  instance  of  his  humanity 
and  broad  tolerance.  One  day,  at  noon,  he,  passing 
the  school  grounds,  noticed  that  all  the  children  were 
out  playing  in  the  yard,  except  a  little  colored  girl  of 
about  five  years,  or  even  younger  (just  a  kindergarten 
tot),  who  stood  alone,  seemingly  unhappy  and  forlorn. 
That  evening  at  supper-time  my  husband  asked  his 
eldest  daughter,  Marie,  who  was  in  the  kindergarten 
too,  why  the  little  colored  girl  was  left  alone  and  why 
nobody  played  with  her.  Was  it  that  she  was  a  bad 
child? 

"No,"  answered  Marie.  "J^st  nobody  plays  with 
her  because  she  is  black." 

"Don't  you  think  it  wrong  to  do  a  thing  like  that  to 
a  little  girl  for  no  fault  of  hers?"  asked  my  husband. 
"Would  you  object  to  playing  with  her?  Fancy  if 
you  should  be  left  alone  just  because  you  are  the  only 
little  Jewish  girl  in  your  school?  (As  was  the  case.) 
Would  you  like  it?" 


PIONEERING   WITH    PIONEERS        49 

Marie  considered  a  moment,  and  then  shook  her 
head.     "Sure,  I'm  going  to  play  with  her!"  she  said. 

During  the  second  year  of  my  husband's  stay  at 
Fort  ColHns,  articles  on  Russia,  written  by  someone 
who  signed  herself  "Princess  X"  began  to  appear  in 
one  of  the  leading  Denver  daily  papers.  The  purpose 
of  the  articles  was  to  influence  the  American  people 
in  favor  of  the  Russian  autocracy.  "The  Czar  is  as 
kind  to  his  people — ^the  peasants  especially,  as  a  loving 
father  to  his  children!"  My  husband  read  these  ar- 
ticles. Knowing  that  .the  homes  of  the  peasants  were 
often  transformed  into  "hells  as  a  result  of  the  Czar's 
fatherly  ruling,  he  felt  intensely  indignant  at  these  lies, 
and  at  once  wrote  an  answer  to  them,  which  was  pub- 
lished. 

A  few  days  later  he  received  a  letter  from  Miss 
Scott-Sexton,  a  well-known  woman  in  Denver,  and  a 
person  of  high  intelligence  and  culture.  She  told  my 
husband  in  her  letter  how  much  she  had  enjoyed  his 
protests,  and  said  that  she  would  like  to  meet  him.  She 
felt  that  the  articles  of  "Princess  X"  must  have  been 
subsidized  by  the  Russian  Government.  We  extended 
her  an  invitation  to  come  and  spend  a  week-end  at 
Fort  Collins.  The  following  Saturday  she  came  to 
see  us.  She  was  eager  to  hear  all  about  Russia,  its 
government,  its  church,  the  peasants,  the  intelligentzia, 
the  relations  existing  between  one  body  and  another. 
For  two  days  my  husband  was  talking,  talking,  talking. 
She  was  so  much  impressed  by  all  she  heard  from  a 


50  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

man  who  one  could  not  for  a  moment  doubt  to  be  all 
sincerity  and  uprightness,  that  she  asked  him  to  give 
several  talks  on  Russia  in  the  neighboring  churches. 

"The  people  here,"  she  said,  "are  so  utterly  ignorant 
about  the  state  of  affairs  in  Russia,  they  are  fed  on 
such  deliberate  falsehood  as  those  articles  of  the  'Prin- 
cess X,'  that  enlightened,  sincere  and  trustworthy 
information  like  yours  would  be  much  appreciated/' 

Glad  of  an  opportunity  to  spread  the  truth  about 
Russia,  my  husband  accepted  the  invitation.  For  four 
or  five  consecutive  Sundays  he  spoke  on  that  topic  in 
the  churches  of  the  neighborhood,  with  introductory 
remarks  by  Miss  Scott-Sexton. 

Meanwhile  his  responsibilities  in  the  laboratory  grew. 
In  December,  1888,  a  well-known  lawyer  of  Fort  Col- 
lins was  found  dead,  and  his  wife  was  accused  of 
p(;isoning  him.  The  trial  was  held  in  Denver  and 
Dr.  O^Brien  was  chosen  as  the  chemical  expert  to 
give  the  court  and  jury  an  analysis  of  the  contents  of 
the  murdered  man's  stomach.  The  case  was  an  exceed- 
ingly complicated  one,  and  it  kept  Dr.  O'Brien  in 
Denver  for  three  months,  on  and  off.  Not  only  the 
laboratory  but  the  class-room  had  to  be  left  under  my 
husband's  care.  Since  he  was  a  boy  of  eleven,  tutor- 
ing and  teaching  had  been  second  nature  to  him.  Time 
and  time  agam  the  students  would  come  to  him,  telling 
him  how  much  they  enjoyed  his  classes,  how  clear  and 
simple  he  made  the  work.  Frequently,  too,  the  director 
of  the  college  complimented  him  upon  the  work  he  was 


PIONEERING   WITH    PIONEERS        51 

doing  in  the  laboratory  and  the  class-room,  dwelling 
especially  on  the  fact  that  the  students  seemed  to  be 
so  fond  of  him.    A  group  of  students  would  often  dro 
in  and  spend  an  hour  or  so  at  the  house. 


CHAPTER   VII 

A  CALL  TO  THE  LAND 

TN  January,  1889,  my  husband  received  letters  from 
old  friends  in  New  York  saying  that  large  funds 
had  been  donated  to  America  by  Baron  de  Hirsch,  of 
France,  the  money  to  be  used  in  settling  Jewish  immi- 
grants on  the  land  as  farmers.  Dr.  Kaplan,  Herman 
Rosenthal  and  Selig  Rosenbluth  had  been  asked  by 
the  Committee  appointed  to  administer  the  Fund,  to 
join  them  and  help  them  with  their  great  task.  They 
were  representative  of  the  intelligent  Russians  of  the 
East  Side.  The  members  of  the  American  Committee 
of  the  Baron  de  Hirsh  Fund  were  among  the  best 
known  persons  in  New  York.  Suoh  men  as  Jacob 
Schiff,  Dr.  Julius  Goldman,  Judge  M.  S.  Isaacs,  the 
late  James  H.  Hoffman,  Oscar  Straus,  Henry  Rice, 
William  B.  Hackenburg  and  Judge  Meyer  Sulzberger, 
of  Philadelphia,  served  on  the  Committee. 

A  month  later  another  letter  came  asking  my  husband 
to  give  in  writing  his  ideas  upon  the  subject  of  "Farm- 
ing for  the  Russian  Jew."  With  great  enthusiasm 
indeed  he  took  up  this  task.  The  old  dream  that  like 
a  flame  smouldered  in  his  heart  blazed  up,  and  that 
never-forgotten  "Back  to  the  Land"  cry  awoke  in  him 
again.    The  Russian  Jew,  who  of  necessity  has  become 

52 


A   CALL   TO   THE   LAND  S3 

solely  a  trader,  might  yet,  he  thought,  as  a  farmer, 
rejuvenate  his  race.  Many  times  that  winter  he  told 
me  how  much  joy  it  had  given  him  to  write  those 
letters  on  "The  Jew  and  Farming'*  for  the  Baron  de 
Hirsch  Fund.  How  much  he  dreamed  of  the  realiza- 
tion of  his  hopes  for  the  Jews  as  farmers! 

One  Tuesday  in  May,  1890,  my  husband  received  a 
telegram  asking  him  to  take  eight  days*  leave,  if  pos- 
sible, in  order  to  be  in  New  York  on  the  following 
Sunday  afternoon,  to  be  present  at  a  committee  meet- 
ing of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund.  He  did  not  have 
the  shadow  of  an  idea  that  to  attend  this  meeting 
would  mean  a  change  in  all  his  future  life  and  that 
of  his  family ;  that  he  would  be  leaving  a  quiet,  peace- 
ful life — the  life  of  a  scientist,  of  a  college  professor — 
for  one  of  turbulence,  excitement,  misunderstanding, 
worries,  and  nerve-wracking  anxieties;  that  he  would 
have  to  deal  with  classes  of  people  so  widely  different 
from  one  another — the  Jewish  immigrant,  quite  un- 
couth and  raw  in  some  cases,  and  the  executive  mem- 
bers of  the  Board  of  Directors,  the  highly  cultured 
product  of  the  best  American  standards,  poor  work- 
ingmen,  rich  employers  of  immigrant  labor,  foreign 
school-boys  and  American  instructors  in  the  agricul- 
tural school  later  founded  by  my  husband.  Their  ways 
of  thinking,  their  sentiments  differed  so  widely  that 
to  make  them  understand  each  other  and  to  sense  each 
other's  point  of  view  would  have  been  a  staggering 
task  for  even  an  older  and  more  experienced  man. 


54  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

With  no  thoughts  like  these  in  mind  he  went  to  the 
president  of  the  college  and  showed  him  the  telegram. 
Dr.  O'Brien  very  kindly  consented  to  the  eight  days* 
leave.  With  his  daughter  Marie,  who  could  hardly 
ever  be  parted  from  her  father,  he  left  for  New  York. 
Exactly  what  took  place  at  the  meeting  of  the  Baron 
de  Hirsch  Fund  Committee,  that  following  Sunday, 
I  do  not  know ;  but  on  Monday  I  received  a  telegram, 
saying: 

"Get  ready.  Am  coming  to  take  you  and  children 
to  New  York." 

To  say  that  I  was  surprised  is  saying  very  little. 
Neither  my  husband  nor  I  had  had  the  slightest  inkling 
of  an  offer  to  manage  the  proposed  Jewish  Colony 
awaiting  him  at  that  Sunday  conference.  He  told  me 
how  surprised  and  pleased  he  had  been  when  upon 
entering  the  room,  a  man  came  forward  and  greeted 
him  with  outstretched  hands.  That  man  was  the  only 
one  present  who  he  knew,  being  none  other  than 
Henry  Rice,  who  had  helped  him  to  get  to  Fort  Collins. 
My  husband  felt  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him  the  more 
keenly,  as  by  this  time  he  had  paid  off  the  debt. 

When  my  husband  returned  and  told  the  president 
of  the  college  that  he  had  come  back  to  resign,  the 
president  was  dumfounded. 

"Professor  Sabsovich/'  he  said,  "you  know  that 
at  our  last  meeting  we  voted  an  increase  in  your  salary 


A    CALL   TO   THE    LAND  55 

and  the  Board  will  decide  on  another  very  soon,  because 
we  would  hate  to  lose  you.  All  of  us,  both  the  faculty 
and  students,  appreciate  the  value  of  your  services." 

Though  my  husband  knew  that  the  sentiments  of 
everyone  in  the  college  were  of  the  warmest,  still  he 
was  surprised  and  deeply  touched  by  the  president's 
words.  He  told  him  that  no  money  consideration  had 
played  a  part  in  the  change  he  was  making;  he  was 
to  take  up  work  for  a  cause  that  had  been  the  dream 
of  many  years,  for  which,  several  years  previously, 
he  had  sacrificed  his  home  and  his  prospects  in  the 
legal  profession,  far  better  paying  than  any  professor- 
ship and  certainly  more  than  the  social  work  he  was 
to  undertake  now.  He  made  it  clear  that  only  work 
for  the  good  of  his  own  people,  work  that  he  had 
dreamed  of  for  years,  led  him  to  resign.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  when  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  Committee, 
upon  engaging  him,  asked  what  salary  he  would  con- 
sider proper,  he  answered  promptly:  "My  present  sal- 
ary."   And  this  was  $1,200  a  year. 

Three  days  later  we  left  for  New  York.  While  in 
the  Fort  Collins  station  a  telegram  was  handed  to  my 
husband  which  read: 

"We  offer  you  the  chair  of  Agricultural  Chemistry. 
Answer.  President, 

"Wyoming  College." 

Needless  to  say  he  replied: 
"Regret,  but  it  is  impossible." 


56  ADVENTURES    IN   IDEALISM 

On  arriving  in  New  York  my  husband  found  the 
administrative  organization  completed  and  work  await- 
ing him.  The  board  to  administer  the  Baron  de  Hirsch 
Fund  was  made  up  as  follows: 

Judge  M.  S.  Isaacs,  Jacob  H.  Schiff,  Jesse  Seligman, 
Dr.  Julius  Goldman,  Henry  Rice,  Judge  Mayer  Sulz- 
berger, Honorable  Oscar  Straus,  William  B.  Hacken- 
berg  and  James  H.  Hoffman. 

Let  me  say  here  that  these  men  of  high  purpose 
and  ideals  and  their  successors  were  ever  an  inspira- 
tion to  my  husband  and  he  enjoyed  the  full  confidence 
of  the  trustees  throughout  his  twenty-five  years  of 
affiliation  with  the  Fund.  To  carry  -their  plans  into 
effective  execution  was  always  a  source  of  keenest 
pleasure  to  him. 

With  the  presidents  of  the  Fund,  who  have  been 
three  since  its  inception.:  Judge  Isaacs,  Dr.  Julius  Gold- 
man and  the  present  incumbent,  Eugene  S.  Benjamin, 
he  was  always  in  close  contact.  Of  the  original  Board 
only  Judge  Sulzberger  remains  in  office.  The  addi- 
tional new  members  are:  Mortimer  L.  Schiff,  Herbert 
H.  Lehman,  Max  J.  Kohler,  Judge  Nathan  Bijur,  S. 
G.  Rosenbaum,  Abram  I.  Elkus,  Charles  L.  Bernheimer, 
Alfred  Jaretzki,  S.  F.  Rothschild,  S.  S.  Fleisher  and 
Julius  Rosenwald. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

OPENING  OF  THE  WOODBINE  TRACT 

OEVERAL  parcels  of  land  for  the  new  colony 
had  at  once  been  offered  and  my  husband^s  first 
duty,  as  superintendent  of  the  enterprise,  was  to  select 
the  right  one.  With  Herman  Rosenthal,  who  was  to 
be  in  charge  of  the  New  York  office  where  applicants 
were  received,  Selig  Rosenbluth  and  Dr.  Kaplan  he 
visited  several,  among  them  the  3,000  acres  in  southern 
New  Jersey  that  is  the  Woodbine  Colony  of  today. 

It  was  cheap  land,  but,  apart  from  that  consider- 
ation, the  Committee  had  other  reasons  for  making 
the  choice.  For  purposes  of  raising  fruit,  vegetables 
and  corn  it  was  very  good.  My  husband  told  me  that 
although  there  were  undoubtedly  better  localities  inso- 
far as  marketing  facilities  went,  and  richer  soils,  the 
Committee  would  rather  spend  the  difference  in  prepar- 
ing the  land  for  the  future  farmer,  enriching  it  accord- 
ing to  modern  scientific  methods.  The  Woodbine 
Tract  was  bought  August  11,  1891. 

My  husband,  with  twelve  picked  "pioneer  farmers," 
left  for  Woodbine.  None  of  the  men  had  much  money 
and  hardly  one  of  them  could  speak  English  or  knew 
anything  about  farming.    What  is  today  a  thrifty  little 

57 


58  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

town  surrounded  by  farms,  consisted  then  of  just  a 
railroad  station,  one  house  owned  by  an  old  couple, 
and  a  shanty  across  the  track.  All  this  was  so  thickly 
surrounded  by  woods  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach 
that  I  remember  we  always  feared  the  children  might 
stray  away  and  become  lost  therein.  A  single  track 
of  the  West  Jersey  Railroad  passed  through,  and  the 
main  occupation  of  those  who  lived  nearby  was  wood- 
chopping,  although  there  was  also  an  occasional  farmer. 

Of  the  six-roomed  houses  quickly  erected,  my  hus- 
band chose  one  for  his  home.  He  then  bought  thirteen 
big  straw  hats  and  thirteen  pairs  of  overalls,  and  with 
his  twelve  pioneer  farmers  began  to  measure  off  the 
woods.  In  this  undertaking  he  had  the  expert  help 
of  the  surveyor  from  Dennisville,  the  nearest  village. 
Those  were  real  pioneer  times!  With  just  a  blanket 
and  pillow  under  each  one,  all  thirteen  slept  right  on 
the  floor.  Certainly  nobody  could  accuse  my  husband 
of  being  an  aristocrat  or  behaving  like  one ! 

He  was  scrupulously  careful  of  every  cent  he  was 
obliged  to  spend  of  the  Fund's  money.  He  always 
felt  that  money  spent  carelessly  might  deprive  another 
immigrant  of  the  chance  of  becoming  a  farmer.  While 
traveling  about,  looking  for  land,  he  and  his  three  asso- 
ciates economized  even  on  their  food.  Instead  of 
taking  their  meals  at  a  hotel,  they  would  buy  a  few 
sandwiches  and  milk  from  a  neighboring  farmer. 

In  a  few  months  new  applicants  began  to  arrive.  By 
November  and  December,  1891,  there  were  sixty,  all 


r:ym^%^ 


•mi 


V   ■•tiv'sjlf-"     ■•V 


OPENING   OF   WOODBINE   TRACT      59 

picked  men.  A  widow,  with  several  children,  cousin 
of  one  of  our  farmers,  was  given  the  use  of  the  other 
six-room  house  just  opposite  the  one  my  husband 
selected  for  a  home.  She  was  to  provide  food  for 
all  those  who  were  willing  to  board  with  her.  A  big 
bam  was  erected  for  the  sixty  men  to  live  in  tem- 
porarily and  a  great  stove  installed.  Those  sitting 
close  to  it  felt  warm,  while  the  rest  had  to  use  their 
imaginations  a  good  deal.  So  much  for  the  accom- 
modations. 

A  practical  farmer,  Frederick  Schmidt,  was  engaged 
as  assistant  to  my  husband.  He  had  very  hard  work 
at  the  start,  surveying  and  dividing  the  land  into  farms. 
Each  of  the  farmers  was  allotted  thirty  acres  of  land, 
which  he  was  to  clear  for  himself.  In  order  to  avoid 
a  suggestion  of  pauperizing  the  settler,  the  Fund  paid 
him  for  preparing  his  soil  for  cultivation,  inasmuch  as 
there  was  no  other  method  of  gaining  a  livelihood. 
Later  on,  in  paying  for  the  farm,  sums  advanced  when 
the  land  was  in  process  of  preparation  for  cultivation 
were  added  to  the  cost  of  the  farm. 

As  the  Jews  were  totally  inexperienced  in  this  work 
of  chopping  down  trees  and  pulling  up  tree-stumps,  the 
labor  seemed  to  them  as  difficult  as  tearing  down  the 
Egyptian  pyramids.  We  must  not  forget  that,  as  a 
rule,  these  men  had  never  done  any  hard  physical  labor 
before.  They  were  mostly  tradesmen.  To  encourage 
them,  to  show  them  that  the  work  was  not  terribly 
hard  in  itself,  only  seeming  so  on  account  of  their 


60  ADVENTURES   IN    IDEALISM 

inexperience,  several  woodchoppers  from  Dennisville 
were  employed  to  work  alongside  of  them.  The  inex- 
perienced beginner  and  the  professional  chopper  were 
paid  alike,  just  as  an  encouragement  to  the  immigrant 
farmer;  for,  ,if  he  had  not  been  paid  for  his  labor, 
he  would  have  thrown  up  his  hands  in  disgust  too 
early  in  the  venture.  Needless  to  say,  the  productive- 
ness of  the  old-time  woodchopper  was  incomparably 
higher  than  that  of  the  future  farmer;  but  paying 
them  alike  for  widely  different  results  served  a  certain 
big  purpose.  The  future  farmer  was  being  slowly 
but  surely  acclimated.  He  was  getting  used  to  hard 
physical  labor  and  making  a  living  wage  at  the  same 
time. 

Woodbine,  in  May,  1892,  was  a  veritable  bee-hive. 
On  the  one  side  of  the  track  was  the  little  boarding- 
house  of  Mrs.  Lipman,  who  was  the  sweetest,  kindest 
of  women.  She  made  her  hearth  the  fireside  of  every 
man  who,  in  the  cold  evenings,  had  nothing  but  a  bam 
to  go  to — cold  comfort  indeed  after  a  trying  day's 
work  in  the  open.  On  the  other  side  of  the  railroad, 
at  the  back  of  the  house,  was  my  husband's  office, 
always  crowded  to  capacity,  in  the  evenings,  with  men 
who  came  in  to  be  paid  for  work  done ;  to  have  money- 
orders  sent  with  letters  to  the  folks  back  home ;  or  to 
ask  all  kinds  of  advice. 

A  grocery  was  soon  opened.  People  would  come 
many  miles  to  see  the  new  settlement ;  it  was  the  talk 
of  the  county. 


OPENING   OF   WOODBINE   TRACT      61 

My  husband  devoted  himself  to  his  duties.  He  loved 
his  work  and  was  happy  doing  it.  At  seven  in  the 
morning  he  would  leave  for  the  woods  with  one  batch 
of  men,  and  his  very  able  assistant,  Mr.  Schmidt, 
would  lead  away  another.  At  twelve  they  would  re- 
turn, and  at  one  o'clock  go  back  to  their  hard  labor 
again.  At  seven  in  the  evening,  when  most  people 
think  of  resting,  Mr.  Schmidt  and  my  husband  would 
give  advice  and  counsel  to  the  sixty  men.  It  would 
often.be  nearly  midnight  before  the  last  man  left. 

Besides  all  this,  he  began  to  write  articles  on  agricul- 
ture for  a  newly  established  paper  called  "The  Bul- 
letin." One  of  his  articles  appeared  in  the  first  number, 
and  soon  after  its  publication  he  received  the  follow- 
ing letter: 

"My  dear  Professor  Sabsovich: 

"We  have  read  with  great  interest  your  articles  on 
farming.  We  are  very  eager  for  this  kind  of  infor- 
mation. We  are  editing  The  Farmer'  here,  and  I 
promised  our  readers  a  double  supply  of  your  valuable 
articles  on  agricultural  subjects. 

"Yours, 

"Benjamin  Greenberg." 

Saving  money  for  the  Fund  was  an  idea  ever  pres- 
ent with  him.  It  took  quite  a  while  to  persuade  my 
husband  that  a  direct  entrance  to  the  office  from  the 
street  would  give  me  some  much-needed  privacy,  al- 
though it  did  not  make  an  extravagant  outlay  of  Fund 
money.    The  cost  was  about  eight  dollars. 


62  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

Nor  would  he,  either,  spare  his  strength  where  sav- 
ing for  the  Fund  was  concerned.  For  several  months 
he  daily  walked  miles  and  miles  through  the  scrub  pine 
and  sand  to  visit  the  sections  where  the  different  shifts 
of  men  were  cutting  down  trees.  He  would  return  in 
the  evening  exhausted.  It  also  took  time  to  convince 
him  that  the  expense  of  a  horse  and  buggy  would  be 
more  of  an  economy  for  the  Fund  than  a  physical 
breakdown  for  him.  At  last  he  agreed  and  bought  a 
horse  and  carriage. 

His  belief  in  the  honesty  of  others  was  a  reflection 
of  his  own  character.  It  was  really  the  first  time  that 
he  had  ever  had  to  have  business  dealings  requiring 
the  special  kind  of  caution  necessary  to  cope  with 
Yankee  horse-traders.  But  he  soon  had  his  experi- 
ences! He  knew  little  of  horses  and  less  of  horse- 
dealers.  The  first  one  he  bought  nearly  killed  him, 
as  well  as  those  riding  with  him.  He  had  been  victim- 
ized. The  horse  was  a  high-kicking  one,  not  fit  for 
use.  The  dealer  found  my  husband  an  easy  mark  for 
his  game;  so,  after  the  carriage  had  been  broken  and 
the  driver  bruised  badly,  the  horse  was  given  away 
and  my  husband  bought  another. 

This  one.  Dandy  by  name,  was  a  dandy  in  looks  and 
spirit;  too  high-spirited,  indeed!  Until  that  time  it 
had  been  my  husband's  impression  that  it  was  the  priv- 
ilege of  mankind  only  to  be  nervous.  He  very  soon 
found  out  that  horses  have  temperament  too,  and  that 
Dandy  had  it  in  a  very  high  degree.    A  few  arms  and 


OPENING   OF   WOODBINE   TRACT      63 

necks  were  twisted  in  the  period  of  Dandy's  service 
but  no  greater  calamity  occurred.  Before  anything 
serious  could  happen  to  her  owner  Dandy  broke  her 
neck  in  a  fit  of  fright  at  an  approaching  train.  My 
husband  had  twice  been  fooled;  because  the  dealers  mis- 
represented what  they  sold.  Without  expert  advice^ 
he  did  not,  therefore,  buy  horses  any  more. 

The  plans  for  the  farmers'  houses,  which  had  been 
drawn  by  a  New  York  architect,  were  now  ready. 
All  the  former  carpenters,  mechanics  and  painters  who 
we  had  among  our  future  farmers,  were  given  prefer- 
ence for  the  work.  A  great  many  men,  too,  were  sent 
by  Mr.  Reichow,  then  head  of  the  United  Hebrew 
Charities,  to  do  odd  jobs,  such  as  clearing  woods,  pull- 
ing stumps,  building  and  painting.  The  plots  on  which 
the  houses  were  to  be  erected  were  cleared  of  stumps 
and  leveled  in  the  spring  of  1891,  and  the  building 
of  the  sixty  farm-houses  began.  All  the  ordering  of 
the  materials  for  building  was  done  through  my  hus- 
band, and  here  he  came  across  for  the  first  time  what 
he  thought  was  graft. 

When  paying  the  first  large  check,  amounting  to  a 
good  many  thousands  of  dollars,  for  the  building 
materials,  the  owner  of  the  mill  told  my  husband  that 
he  was  entitled  to  a  certain  commission  on  the  deal. 

"Why,  I  am  paid  for  my  work,"  he  answered. 
"What  does  the  commission  amount  to?" 

On  being  told,  he  asked  the  dealer  to  deduct  this 
sum  from  the  total  cost  of  the  materials.    During  the 


64  ADVENTURES   IN   IDEALISM 

years  my  husband  worked  for  the  Fund,  whenever  this 
kind  of  an  offer  was  made  to  him,  and  it  was  made 
by  every  new  dealer,  his  answer  was  always  the  same: 
''Deduct  my  commission  from  the  cost  of  the  goods." 

Taking  account  of  the  money  laid  out  by  him  for 
the  Fund  in  building  the  farm-houses,  the  little  town, 
with  its  numerous  factories,  and  the  agricultural  school, 
no  mean  sum  was  saved  by  him  in  this  way.  In  later 
years  the  remark  was  sometimes  made:  "Professor 
Sabsovich  must  have  made  lots  of  money  in  Wood- 
bine." They  undoubtedly  judged  him  by  accepted 
business  methods,  not  knowing  that  there  was  in  him 
a  much  higher  standard  of  honor.  To  him,  every 
dollar  of  the  Fund  was  a  sacred  trust. 

Not  only  the  business  people,  but  the  farmers,  too, 
had  to  be  taught  a  lesson  in  this  respect.  The  very 
first  year  that  they  raised  any  produce,  whether  veg- 
etables, fruit,  fowls,  butter,  eggs  or  cheese,  a  donation 
wou'ld  be  brought.  This  custom,  so  much  in  vogue  in 
Russia,  where  the  tenant  endeavors  thus  to  keep  in 
the  good  graces  of  the  landlord,  being  out  of  place 
here,  where  my  husband  was  manager,  was  discour- 
aged. Invariably,  when  any  of  the  farmers  would 
bring  in  a  gift,  my  husband  or  I  would  ask: 

"How  much  does  it  cost?" 

"Why,  nothing,"  would  be  the  usual  answer. 

"Didn't  you  work  hard  for  it?  Did  it  cost  you 
nothing?     We  will  not  take  anything  for  nothing. 


OPENING   OF   WOODBINE   TRACT      65 

Either  you  are  paid  what  everybody  else  pays  you  or 
you  take  it  home." 

And  never  did  the  same  farmer  try  it  again. 

I  remember  that  two  years  later,  in  1897,  my  hus- 
band was  asked  to  go  to  Canada  by  the  Fund  Com- 
mittee to  investigate  conditions  of  farming  there.  It 
was  a  strenuous  trip,  lasting  several  weeks.  His  report 
pleased  the  Committee  very  much,  and  they  expressed 
appreciation,  apart  from  words,  by  sending  him  a 
check.  He  sent  it  back  at  once  with  the  following 
letter: 

"My  dear  Dr.  Goldman: 

"Your  favor  of  the  14th,  with  the  enclosed  extra 
check  as  compensation  for  my  report  on  the  Hirsch 
Colony  in  Canada,  was  received  this  morning.  Highly 
as  I  appreciate  your  commendation,  I  feel  it  incon- 
sistent with  my  status  as  an  employee  of  the  Fund  to 
receive  extra  compensation  for  work  ordered  by  the 
Fund.  I  am  fully  satisfied  with  the  mere  appreciation 
of  my  work,  not  expressed  in  a  sum  of  money.  There- 
fore you  will  kindly  take  back  the  check  sent  me  by 
Mr.  A.  A.  Solomons. 

"Yours  truly, 

"H.  L.  Sabsovich." 

I  recall  distinctly  the  answer  my  husband  received 
from  Dr.  Goldman,  the  Fund's  president,  who  had  a 
generous  heart,  wonderful  vision,  fine  constructive 
ability  and  sincere  love  for  the  work  and  was  always 
a   staunch   supporter  of   whatever   Prof.    Sabsovich 


66  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

planned  for  the  welfare  of  the  farmers  or  factory 
employees.     He  wrote: 

"The  return  of  the  check  was  a  source  of  great 
pleasure  to  me.  My  faith  in  your  fine  judgment  in 
questions  of  integrity  is  upheld  again." 

The  words  may  not  have  been  exactly  these,  for  it 
is  about  twenty-eight  years  since  they  were  written, 
but  they  represent  the  essence  of  the  sentiment  ex- 
pressed. 


CHAPTER  IX 

BUILDING  THE   COLONY 

^TpHE  spring  of  1892  rises  vividly  in  memory.  The 
sixty  farmers  are  cutting  off  the  woods,  clearing 
the  land  of  stumps,  and  assisting  carpenters,  brick- 
layers and  mechanics  hired  in  New  York  or  Philadel- 
phia to  build  their  houses.  Barns  and  other  out- 
buildings are  springing  up.  In  a  short  time  this  waste 
land,  stretching  for  miles,  has  been  transformed  as 
though  a  magic  wand  had  been  waved  over  it.  The 
people  on  the  trains  passing  to  the  watering-places  and 
resorts — Cape  May  and  Ocean  City — during  the  sum- 
mer months  of  this  year  could  hardly  believe  the  testi- 
mony of  their  eyes.  What  had  been,  a  short  time 
before,  a  stretch  of  barren,  desolate  pines,  was  changed 
and  enlivened  so  that  they  did  not  recognize  it.  For, 
when  they  reached  Woodbine,  the  monotonous  scene 
blossomed  into  new  houses,  brightly-painted  outbuild- 
ings, surrounded,  where  the  pines  had  been  cut  away, 
with  crops  and  young  orchards.  Inquiring,  they  would 
be  informed  that  the  wealth  of  the  philanthropist, 
Baron  de  Hirsch,  had  made  all  this  possible. 

The  Committee  in  charge  of  the  Fund  realized  from 
the  very  start  that  it  would  take  several  years  before 

67 


68  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

the  farms  could  be  made  to  pay  and  their  owners  en- 
abled to  draw  a  living  from  them.  They  realized  full 
well  that  it  might  take  a  decade  before  the  dwellers 
in  the  Ghetto,  traders  for  generations  out  of  sheer 
necessity  and  denied  access  to  the  soil,  would  become 
successful  husbandmen. 

To  enable  the  farmers  to  work  their  lands  and  at 
the  same  time  to  make  a  living,  it  was  decided  to  pro- 
vide a  place  for  other  industries.  The  Baron  de 
Hirsch  Committee  persuaded  one  manufacturer  after 
another  to  move  his  plant  from  the  city,  agreeing  to 
furnish  the  employees  with  homes.  Thus  factories  were 
built,  with  great  lofts  and  large  windows  close  to  one 
another,  so  different  from  the  dirty,  dark  sweatshops 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia! 

At  first  one  large  factory  was  erected,  with  a  few 
dozen  houses  close  by,  and  these  formed  the  nucleus 
of  Woodbine  Village.  The  houses  near  the  new  plant 
were  occupied  by  its  managers,  officers  and  employees ; 
and  so  the  first  clothing  factory  was  opened  in  the 
autumn  of  1892;  and  all,  young  and  old,  found  work 
there.  By  this  time,  too,  the  farmers  and  their  families 
were  comfortably  settled  in  their  farmhouses. 

A  crying  need  for  a  public  bath-house  soon  arose, 
for  a  bath-room  in  a  house  was  an  unheard-of  luxury. 
About  February,  1893,  the  public  bath-house  opened 
its  doors  for  the  use  of  the  people  of  Woodbine,  free 
of  charge.  It  was  built  of  brick  and  comprised  the 
Russian  steam  and  plunge  baths.    The  Committee  pre- 


o 


BUILDING   THE   COLONY  69 

sented  two  lots  to  the  Brotherhood  for  the  building, 
and  loaned  them  $2,000  at  four  per  cent,  to  help  erect 
it.  Brick,  obtained  on  Goodman's  farm,  was  bought, 
and  the  colonists  put  up  the  building  themselves,  at 
their  own  expense.  It  later  became  the  property  of 
the  whole  community. 

The  farmhouses  were  heated  by  wood  fires,  so  a 
wood-chopping  and  drying  machine,  to  make  kindling 
wood  both  for  the  use  of  the  settlers  and  for  sale  in 
the  markets  of  Philadelphia,  was  installed.  In  fact, 
during  the  first  years  of  Woodbine,  you  might  see  at 
every  corner  countless  piles  of  cord-wood,  chopped  by 
the  pioneer  workers,  ready  for  shipment  to  a  firm  in 
Philadelphia. 

The  farmers  were  a  mixed  class  and  came  from 
all  parts  of  Russia — Courland,  South  Russia,  Polish 
Russia  (then)  and  Galicia,  Austria.  We  had  a  dozen 
families  who  would  be  a  pride  to  any  settlement, 
especially  the  young  people — intelligent,  wide-awake, 
ambitious.  To  keep  these,  particularly,  contented  on 
the  farm  and  in  the  village,  some  great  attraction  must 
be  planned;  the  social  side  of  the  settler's  lives  must  be 
developed.  My  husband  realized  quickly  enough  that 
it  would  be  his  duty  to  make  life  pleasant  for  them 
and  their  families;  and  at  the  first  opportunity  that 
afforded,  our  little  house  was  made  the  social  center. 

One  Sunday  in  May,  1892,  we  were  to  entertain  at 
dinner  the  members  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Committee 
and  their  wives.    It  was  the  first  time  that  the  whole 


70  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

Committee  had  planned  to  come  at  once  to  Woodbine 
to  see  the  work  that  had  been  done.  My  husband 
expected  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  persons.  Not  hav- 
ing had  much  experience  in  entertaining  so  many,  we 
ordered  everything  in  rather  large  quantities,  to  be  on 
the  safe  side. 

The  dinner  was  ready  to  be  served  when  my  hus- 
band, who  had  gone  to  the  station  to  meet  the  visitors, 
returned  with  a  telegram  which  said  that  on  account 
of  the  inclement  weather,  the  trip  to  Woodbine  would 
have  to  be  postponed.  It  had,  indeed,  been  raining 
for  the  last  three  days.  Needless  to  try  to  describe 
our  feelings,  after  the  efforts  we  had  put  forth  to 
make  the  dinner  a  success,  let  alone  the  expenditure! 
We  had,  however,  the  satisfaction  of  having  with  us 
one  of  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  the 
late  Mr.  Hoffman,  who  arrived  with  his  son.  Unaware 
of  the  Committee's  change  of  plans,  he  had  been  in 
Chicago  for  a  few  days,  and  came  to  Woodbine  direct 
on  the  day  set  for  the  meeting.  Of  course  there  was 
an  abundance  of  food  left  over;  so,  in  the  evening 
we  invited  all  the  young  folks  to  supper.  This  was 
the  first  impromptu  social  given  them,  and  if  the  dinner 
did  not  materialize,  the  supper  was  voted  a  howling 
success. 

I  must  also  note  the  first  wedding  that  took  place  in 
Woodbine.  A  newly-arrived  immigrant,  a  Hercules 
in  build  and  strength,  Glaser  by  name,  had  drifted 
to  Woodbine  looking  for  work.     He  was  given  em- 


BUILDING   THE    COLONY  71 

ployment  cutting  down  trees  and  pulling  up  stumps. 
He  used  to  work  sixteen  hours  a  day,  making  four  or 
five  dollars  daily — then  an  unheard-of  figure. 

He  took  a  fancy  to  a  girl  who  also  had  come  to 
Woodbine  in  search  of  work.  Sarah,  as  was  her 
name,  was  employed  in  the  boarding-house.  Soon 
they  were  engaged,  and  my  husband  decided  that  their 
wedding,  the  first  in  Woodbine,  should  be  a  social 
event  for  the  colony.  A  certain  sum  of  money  was 
allotted  for  the  wedding-feast  and  everybody  was  in- 
vited. The  factory  was  turned  into  a  banquet-hall. 
Musicians  from  Philadelphia  were  hired  to  play  the 
dance  music,  and  all  had  a  good  time.  Not  until  the 
early  hours  of  the  morning  did  the  party  break  up  and 
the  guests  bid  good-bye  to  the  happy  couple. 

To  provide  for  the  future  of  the  pair,  both  orphans, 
and  realizing  what  a  wonderful  worker  the  man  was, 
with  all  the  promise  of  a  splendid  future  farmer  if 
but  given  the  chance,  my  husband  assigned  him  a  farm, 
where  he  and  his  wife  settled  down,  raising,  besides 
cows,  poultry,  vegetables  and  fruit,  a  fine  crop  of  seven 
children. 

Every  birthday  of  my  husband's  or  of  any  member 
of  his  family  was  made  a  pretext  for  an  entertainment 
and  informal  dance  at  our  little  house.  In  later  years 
we  used  the  hall  at  our  agricultural  school.  All  the 
young  folks  were  invited,  refreshments  were  served, 
and  everyone  enjoyed  a  jolly  evening. 

An  event  of  interest  shining  out  as  a  memory  aniong 


72  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

the  laoors  and  trials  of  early  Woodbine  days,  a  merry 
one  chronicled  by  the  Cape  May  Gazette  of  March  3, 
1899— "Prof.  H.  L.  Sabsovich's  Birthday"  is  here- 
with given  in  the  language  of  that  papar: 

"On  Friday  evening,  February  24,  the  39th  anniver- 
sary of  Prof.  H.  L.  Sabsovich's  birthday  was  merrily 
celebrated  at  his  residence.  The  main  features  of  the 
evening  were  a  concert  given  by  some  Philadelphia 
artists  and  the  music  of  Mr.  Lippincott — which  made 
everybody  dance.  The  pupils  of  the  Agricultural 
School  were  represented  by  a  committee  of  three,  one 
of  whom  read  a  very  well-written  address,  which 
appears  below.  Three  of  the  most  prominent  alumni 
of  the  school  presented  to  Prof.  Sabsovich  a  small 
gold  locket  containing  their  photos  and  an  appropriate 
inscription.  Mr.  Kotinsky  made  the  presentation 
speech,  to  which  Prof.  Sabsovich  responded  in  a  few 
touching  words.  While  refreshments  were  served 
toasts  were  offered  by  many  of  the  people  present, 
Mr.  Fred  Schmidt  acting  in  the  capacity  of  toast- 
master.  We  beg  to  extend  our  sincerest  congratula- 
tions to  Superintendent  Sabsovich  and  hope  that  he 
will  be  spared  for  many  years  to  continue  his  noble 
work.*' 

The  address  was  as  follows: 

"Dear  Professor:  In  the  name  of  the  pupils  of  the 
Baron  de  Hirsch  Agricultural  and  Industrial  School, 
we  come  here  to  extend  our  greetings  to  you  on  the 
39th  anniversary  of  your  birthday.  We  take  this 
opportunity  to  express  some  of  our  sentiments  toward 


bfl 

O 
U 


BUILDING   THE   COLONY  73 

you  as  a  man,  and  as  the  superintendent  of  the  school. 
The  interest  that  you  have  taken  in  the  promotion  of 
agriculture  among  our  co-reHgionists,  both  by  the 
estabHshment  of  colonies  and  this  institution,  is  deserv- 
ing of  praise  more  than  we  can  express  as  young  men 
blindly  seeking  an  occupation  wherewith  they  may  pro- 
vide themselves  the  ability  to  encounter  this  stern 
world.  We  have  been  accidentally  or  otherwise  brought 
in  contact  with  this  noble  and  your  dearly-cherished 
institution.  Our  ideals  of  the  future  were  vague,  our 
prospects  wore  the  appearance  of  shadows,  but  as  time 
wore  on,  as  days,  weeks  and  months  were  passing,  the 
bright  star  of  our  future  slowly  but  surely  began  to 
peer  out  from  behind  its  cloudy  shroud.  From  day  to 
day  your  earnestness  and  good-will,  honesty  of  purpose 
and  goodness  of  heart  became  more  convincing;  our 
attachment  to  you  grew  stronger  and  stronger,  un- 
til now,  although  we  have  had  but  a  taste  of  the  delica- 
cies that  you  have  in  store  for  us,  the  bonds  thus  created 
are  inseparable.  Like  a  tender  father  have  you  led  us 
by  the  hand,  taught  us  to  love  the  beauties  of  which 
we  had  had  no  conception.  Agriculture  is  the  noblest 
pursuit  of  man,  where  everyone  earns  his  bread  by 
the  sweat  of  his  brow ;  an  occupation  that  has  triumphed 
the  world  over,  and  its  existence  we  find  now  the 
only  one  that  will  save  our  race  from  the  plague  and 
misery  that  it  is  bound  to  endure  in  the  overcrowded 
cities.  It  was  with  tears  of  sorrow  that  we  have  for- 
saken the  unwholesome  temptations  of  our  ghettos, 
but  it  is  with  tears  of  joy  and  pride  that  we  come 
before  you  to  announce  that  you  have  triumphed  and 
we  are  converted.  Lead  us  and  we  will  follow  you; 
be  our  counsellor,  we  pray,  and  we  will  be  your  dis- 
ciples!   In  us.  Sir,  be  sure  you  have  reached  the  sum- 


74  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

mit  of  your  ambition!  To  you,  Sir,  we  pledge  our 
faith  and  of  our  confidence  allow  not  yourself  to 
doubt! 

"Agriculture,  farming,  country-life,  peace  of  mind 
and  soul  is  the  clamor  of  our  brethren,  bitterly  groan- 
ing under  their  yoke  of  semi-slavery.  In  farming  they 
have  hoped  to  find  reconciliation  with  their  sufferings 
as  exiles,  but  in  spite  of  their  numerous  attempts  and 
earnest  efforts,  they  have  failed  again  and  again.  Little 
did  they  know  the  cause  of  the  failure  or  of  the  meth- 
ods employed  or  knowledge  required  at  the  present 
day  for  successful  farming.  With  lack  of  knowledge 
came  lack  of  confidence  and  finally  discouragement. 
With  your  keen  insight  into  life,  your  love  for  your 
brethren  and  phenomenal  foresight,  you  have  con- 
ceived an  idea  that  but  few  could  have  done — the 
instilling  into  the  young  generation  love  for  what  is 
noble  and  good,  for  farming  life  in  its  most  attractive 
aspect.  To  establish  a  thorough  acquaintance  with 
nature  was  your  bright  thought.  To  train  the  bud, 
while  yet  in  its  early  stage  of  development,  to  assume 
the  gorgeous  perfection  with  which  nature  alone  can 
bountifully  endow  it.  With  clear  perception  you  have 
resolved  to  lay  the  foundation  of  agricultural  life 
among  the  Jews.  The  vigorous,  healthy  and  enter- 
prising young  men  of  the  race  are  flexible,  impression- 
able, delighting  in  beauty  and  appreciating  the  won- 
ders of  nature.  They  will  bear  witness  to  the  wisdom 
of  the  grand  structure  of  which  you  have  laid  the  foun- 
dation. In  them  you  are  laying  up  a  store  of  fame 
for  yourself  that  in  time  shall  know  no  bound.  May 
the  Almighty  grant  that  you  may  live  to  see  the  result 
of  your  beautiful  teachings!  May  your  days  be  pro- 
longed to  enjoy  the  credit  reflected  upon  you  by  your 


BUILDING   THE   COLONY  75 

present  pupils!  May  you  live  to  realize  the  blessing 
and  honor  that  your  nation  will  justly  bestow  upon 
you!  May  your  days  be  as  a  coilection  of  jewels 
scattered  in  your  pathway,  reflecting  the  bright  joys 
and  happinesses  of  your  kind  deeds!  May  the  bread 
of  helpfulness  cast  by  you  upon  the  waters  come  back 
to  you  in  the  form  of  blessing  and  gratitude  from 
those  nearest  you  now  and  those  who  will  follow  them ! 
"That  all  the  anniversaries  of  the  day  of  your  birth 
may  be  golden  mile-stones  upon  a  smooth  highway  of 
life  is  the  earnest  wish  of 

"Your  Boys." 

How  pleasant  those  parties  were !  I  might  fill  page 
after  page  with  descriptions  of  the  splendid  times  the 
young  people  had  in  Woodbine,  owing  to  my  hus- 
band's untiring  efforts  to  promote  the  social  spirit. 
He  never  thoroughly  enjoyed  an  evening  unless  Wood- 
bine colonists  were  with  him  to  enjoy  it  also;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  jollification  of  any  sort  at  the  home 
of  a  farmer  was  no  jollification  unless  Professor  Sab- 
sovich  was  there  to  grace  it,  and  he  never  disappointed 
them  unless  it  was  unavoidable. 

As  Woodbine  was  located  only  three  and  one-half 
miles  from  Dennisville,  my  husband  was  eager  to  make 
friends  with  the  people  there,  and  to  bring  the  immi- 
grants, in  every  way  possible,  under  the  good  influence 
of  our  American  neighbors.  To  make  the  Jewish  set- 
tlers as  good  farmers  and  as  good  citizens  as  their 
native  neighbors  was  his  dream.  Among  our  men, 
many  who  came  from  the  poorest  districts  of  Galicia 


7^  ADVENTURES    IN   IDEALISM 

and  Poland  were  very  abject  and  uncouth.  The  Amer- 
ican villagers,  most  of  them  seeing  Russian  immigrants 
for  the  first  time,  were  not  favorably  impressed.  They 
judged  the  immigrant  by  his  appearance,  which,  to  tell 
the  truth,  was  far  from  attractive,  especially  when  we 
remember  that,  like  all  pioneers,  his  first  winter  was 
spent  in  a  cold  barn,  without  accommodations  for  a 
good  wash,  let  alone  a  bath.  But  my  husband  worked 
constantly  for  a  better  understanding  with  the 
Americans. 

November  5,  1892,  my  husband  wrote  to  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  farmers  in  the  New  York  office: 

"Yesterday  was  the  first  manifestation  of  Wood- 
bine's political  life,  and  it  made  a  great  impression  on 
our  American  neighbors.  We  had  a  fine  torch-light 
parade.  Mr.  Y.  tried  to  buy  votes,  but  Fll  see  to  it 
that  Woodbine  is  free  of  the  blame  of  being  corrupted." 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  FIRST  PROBLEMS 


^nr^HE  Woodbine  settlers  came  into  daily  contact 
with  the  Dennisville  people,  as  the  village  was  the 
supply-station  for  the  everyday  needs  of  our  colonists. 
All  that  Woodbine  had  at  the  time  was  one  very  small 
grocery  store.  The  occasion  of  the  first  clash  with 
our  American  neighbors  was  the  refusal  of  the  Dennis- 
ville barber  to  cut  the  hair  of  a  young  man,  an  engineer 
in  one  of  the  factories,  who  had  lived  in  the  country 
for  several  years  and  was  quite  Americanized.  The 
barber's  explanation  was  a  threatened  boycott  by  his 
clientele  if  he  served  the  Jews. 

Very  angry,  the  young  man  came  straight  from  the 
barber  to  my  husband's  office,  and  told  him  of  the 
incident.  My  husband  was  just  as  indignant  as  he. 
Mr.  Rice,  a  fine  old  gentleman,  much  respected  in 
the  village,  was  sent  for.  He  had  surveyed  the  Wood- 
bine lands  and  procured  much  work  for  the  Dennis- 
ville people,  so  that  their  pay-envelopes  grew  bigger 
and  bigger  each  week  through  their  connection  with 
the  Woodbine  Land  Improvement  Company.  My  hus- 
band told  him  that  he  would  be  forced  to  discharge 

n 


7S  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

'all  the  Dennisville  men  we  employed,  unless  they 
learned  to  treat  our  people  more  tolerantly. 

Although  the  boycott  was  taken  off  at  once  and 
a  number  of  the  most  representative  members  of  the 
Dennisville  community  came  over  and  apologized,  my 
husband  and  the  settlers  had  had  their  pride  so  deeply 
hurt  that  they  knew  they  would  never  go  back  to  that 
shop.  When  one  of  the  settlers,  who  had  been  a  bar- 
ber in  Russia,  Mr.  Shapiro,  volunteered  to  open  a  shop 
of  his  own  they  caught  at  the  opportunity.  The  right 
inducement  was  offered  him,  and  in  a  few  days  the 
first  barber  shop  was  opened  in  Woodbine. 

The  Post  Office  had  been  established  in  the  center 
of  the  village.  The  first  Postmaster,  a  native  Ameri- 
can, was  always  complaining  of  the  curious  way  in 
which  the  settlers  would  seal  their  letters,  with  stamps 
on  the  reverse  side  of  the  envelope.  To  his  great  dis- 
gust and  annoyance  the  letters  received  from  Europe 
would  also  be  sealed  in  the  same  way.  He  asked  my 
husband  once: 

"Why  does  the  Jew  put  his  stamps  on  the  flap  of 
the  envelope  ?"  The  answer  my  husband  gave  seemed 
to  satisfy  him. 

"In  Russia,"  he  explained,  "the  post  ofidce  clerks 
often  tamper  with  and  open  letters  coming  through 
their  hands,  and  to  prevent  this  the  stamp  is  put  on 
the  letter  as  a  seal." 

Many  customs  of  the  Jews  seemed  peculiar  to  the 
native,  especially  the  demonstrative  and  affectionate 


THE   FIRST    PROBLEMS  79 

partings.  On  Saturday  morning,  the  day  of  rest,  when 
the  train  left,  the  station  would  be  black  with  young 
and  old.  There  was  great  curiosity  to  see  people  go 
and  come,  and  to  witness  affectionate  embraces,  often 
accompanied  by  tears,  before  departure.  No  wonder, 
then,  that  once,  when  I  was  seated  in  the  train,  a  lady 
approached  me  and  asked  me  whether  all  the  people 
who  were  bidding  such  affectionate  good-byes  were 
leaving  for  the  "other  side,"  never  to  return?  Hier 
amazement  was  great  when  I  told  her  that  to  my  knowl- 
edge most  of  them  were  coming  back  on  the  same 
train  that  evening;  though  some  might  not  return  for 
a  few  days! 

There  were,  by  this  time,  a  great  many  children  of 
school  age  amongst  us.  An  old  two-story  house  on 
the  south  side  of  the  railroad  was  equipped  with  all 

the  necessary  school  furnishings,  and  Miss  H , 

a  native  of  Dennisville,  was  engaged  as  teacher.  So 
the  first  Woodbine  public  school  came  into  being. 
A  night  school  was  opened  in  connection  with  it,  to 
teach  the  older  folks  English,  the  bookkeeper  in  the 
office  becoming  the  first  instructor. 

The  first  public  school  teacher  had  rather  a  hard 
time  of  it,  as  a  number  of  the  pupils  were  immigrants, 
newly  arrived,  and  teacher  and  children  spoke  differ- 
ent languages.  We  might  have  engaged  a  teacher  of 
Russian  descent,  with  the  result  of  enabling  teacher 
and  pupils  to  understand  one  another's  speech,  and 
simplify  the  work.     But  so  earnest  was  my  husband's 


80  ADVENTURES   IN   IDEALISM 

desire  to  Americanize  the  youth  of  Woodbine  and  to 
inculcate  in  them  the  true  American  spirit,  that  only- 
one  whose  forefathers  were  natives  would  satisfy  him. 
Slowly,  but  surely  the  work  of  the  American-born 
teacher  took  root  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  little 
ones,  who  had  their  eyes  and  ears  wide  open  to  every 
new  impression. 

The  Christmas  holidays  of  1892  approached.  A  few 
Christian  families  lived  in  Woodbine  and  coming  in 
contact  daily  with  them  and  the  people  of  the  surround- 
ing villages,  the  Jewish  children  could  not  but  be 
aroused  to  a  holiday  spirit  as  well.  We  had  about 
seventy-five  school-children  at  the  time,  for,  besides 
the  farmers*  little  ones,  there  were  the  children  of  the 
Jewish  factory  employees.  It  happened  that  Chanuka, 
the  Feast  of  Lights,  fell  that  year  within  Christ- 
mas week.  So,  to  give  our  own  school-children,  too,  a 
chance  to  enjoy  a  happy  holiday,  my  husband  asked 
our  Committee  to  give  a  certain  sum  of  money  to 
cover  the  cost  of  the  festivities.  The  Committee  cheer- 
fully agreed,  and  with  one  hundred  dollars  in  my 
pocketbook,  I  went  to  Philadelphia  and  bought  for 
each  child  a  top,  a  book  and  a  box  of  candy,  as  well 
as  fruit  and  soft  drinks  for  the  older  folks.  So  we 
prepared  a  simple  entertainment.  The  factory  was 
again  turned  into  a  jollification  place,  and  the  first 
public  school  entertainment  by  and  for  Woodbine 
school-children  took  place. 

During  the  evening  two  of  the  employees  in  the 


THE   FIRST    PROBLEMS  81 

office  of  the  factory  came  up  to  me  as  the  manager  of 
the  affair,  and  asked  if  they  might  contribute  their 
bit  to  the  entertainment.  They  were  comedians,  they 
said.  Their  **bit"  was  the  great  hit  of  the  evening, 
and  no  wonder,  for  a  few  years  later  they  appeared  as 
headHners  on  Broadway  with  "Weber  and  Fields." 

Early  one  morning  the  next  Spring,  on  the  first 
day  of  Pesach,  my  husband  happened  to  go  up  to  the 
railroad  station,  and  while  there  he  was  handed  a  tele- 
gram. I  saw  him  stagger  and  turn  ashen  white  as  he 
read  it. 

"What's  4:he  trouble?  What  'has  happened?"  I 
asked. 

He  handed  me  the  telegram.     It  said: 

"Your  integrity  at  stake.  Come  to  New  York  as 
soon  as  you  can. 

"Julius  Goldman.^' 

*T  am  going  by  the  next  train,"  he  said,  recovering 
himself  a  little.  And  two  hours  later  he  left  for 
New  York  in  <in  intensely  agitated  state  of  mind.  On 
the  following  day,  when  he  returned,  he  told  me  the 
story. 

A  certain  person,  connected  with  the  New  York 
office  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund,  jealous  of  my 
husband's  good  work  in  Woodbine,  and  of  his  excel- 
lent standing  with  the  Committee  and  the  people,  be- 
gan by  insinuation,  dropping  a  word  now  and  then,  to 
try  to  arouse  suspicion  in  the  minds  of  the  Committee, 


82  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

that  something  was  wrong  with  the  method  in  which 
my  husband  kept  the  books  and  handled  the  money. 

By  this  time  about  $300,000  had  passed  through  his 
hands.  For  a  long  time,  in  his  zeal  to  economize,  he 
had  had  no  bookkeeper  at  all.  Considering,  therefore, 
the  amount  of  construction  work  that  had  been  going 
on  in  Woodbine  for  the  farmers  and  the  town,  the  long 
hours  spent  in  work,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  not  a 
trained  bookkeeper  himself,  it  would  have  been  re- 
markable, nay,  miraculous  if  mistakes  had  not  oc- 
curred. But  whenever,  in  his  monthly  reports,  the 
accounts  did  not  agree,  he  had  always  made  good  out 
of  his  own  salary. 

To  put  an  end  to  this  malicious  rumor,  my  husband 
asked  Dr.  Goldman  to  send  an  expert  auditor  to  Wood- 
bine, and  in  a  few  weeks  Mr.  A.  S.  Solomons  came 
down.  He  was  the  general  agent  of  the  Fund  at  that 
time.  It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  Mr.  Solomons 
was  one  of  the  founders,  with  Miss  Clara  Barton,  of 
the  American  Red  Cross,  September  1,  1882,  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  was  conspicuously  instrumental  in 
organizing  this  greatest  of  humanitarian  bodies  along 
lines  of  practical  effectiveness. 

He  worked  five  days  over  the  books,  checking  up 
minutely  every  voucher,  and,  at  the  end  of  the  week, 
telegraphed  the  President  of  the  Committee  that  the 
books  were  in  splendid  shape,  and  that  the  Committee 
might  be  congratulated  on  having  Prof.  Sabsovich's 
sterling  abilities  at  .their  command. 


THE   FIRST    PROBLEMS  83 

The  man  responsible  for  the  rumors  was  requested 
to  resign  and  that  severed  his  connection  with  the  Fund 
forever. 

Dr.  Goldman  hastened  to  assure  my  husband  that 
his  honesty  had  never  been  doubted  for  an  instant  by 
him,  but  that  there  had  been  in  existence  a  persistent 
undercurrent  of  complaint  that  the  books  were  not 
being  properly  kept,  and  he  wished  to  silence  it  at 
once  and  for  all.  A  letter  of  my  husband's,  written  to 
Dr.  Goldman  at  that  time  reads  as  follows: 

*T  shall  be  glad  to  get  rid  of  all  accounts,  book- 
keeping, etc.  It  wearies  me  more  than  any  of  the  work 
outdoors.  When  the  work  in  the  fields  starts,  and 
everything  goes  smoothly,  as  I  hope  it  will,  you'll  not 
recognize  me.  Good  spirits  and  hope  for  the  success 
of  our  undertaking  will  do  me  far  more  good  than 
any  amount  of  caring  for  my  physical  health  ever  will." 
(Dr.  Goldman  had  expressed  his  anxiety  about  the 
state  of  my  husband's  health.) 

Of  the  good  friends  made  among  his  colleagues 
while  on  the  staff  of  the  Fort  Collins  Agricultural 
College,  he  had  corresponded  regularly  with  one  who, 
by  1892,  had  become  Director  of  the  Lincoln  Agri- 
cultural College  in  Nebraska.  Prof.  Ingersoll  had 
heard  of  the  great  hardships  my  husband  had  been 
enduring  in  furthering  to  his  utmost  the  welfare  of 
the  new  colony,  and  he  wrote  to  summon  him  to 
Nebraska  to  work  at  Lincoln.  Here  is  the  letter  my 
husband  wrote  to  Prof.  Ingersoll  in  answer  to  the 
invitation: 


84  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

"Dear  Friend: 

"Your  valuable  and  friendly  letter  of  Nov.  28th  is 
at  hand.  I  appreciate  your  warm  feeling  toward  me 
and  your  splendid  offer.  The  troubles  I  have  had 
with  my  co-workers  were  settled  in  the  spring.  Now 
I  am  directly  responsible  to  the  Directors  of  our  Fund. 

"The  results  of  the  first  agricultural  season  are  more 
favorable  than  I  had  expected,  considering  all  the  dif- 
ficulties we  had  to  overcome.  You  know  from  my 
previous  letters  that  our  place  is  adapted  to  fruit  grow- 
ing and  market  gardening.  Out  of  sixty  orchards 
planted,  only  in  a  half-dozen  is  the  percentage  of  dead 
trees  about  five  per  cent.  With  small  fruits  we  have 
had  the  same  result.  While  raising  fruit,  we  have 
also  been  successful  with  watermelon  culture,  early 
potatoes,  sweet  potatoes  and  cucumbers.  It  seems  our 
soil  and  climate  are  well  adapted  to  growing  these 
vegetables.  On  account  of  the  late  planting,  and  the 
fact  that  I  did  not  have  a  chance  to  prepare  the  land 
right,  I  was  not  successful  in  raising  strawberries.  .  .  . 

"Concerning  the  industries,  the  Fund  has  built  two 
factories,  which  employ  180  hands  and  are  able  to 
employ  100  more.  As  the  farming  population  cannot 
supply  enough  hands  for  the  factories,  the  Fund  has 
built  22  nice  cottages,  costing  $1000  to  $1500  each,  and 
a  pleasant  hotel,  heated  by  steam  and  lighted  by  elec- 
tricity. 

"I  have  graded  four  miles  of  farm  roads  25  feet 
wide,  and  over  two  miles  of  streets  and  avenues  in 
town,  66  to  100  feet  wide.  67  farms  are  under  cul- 
tivation ;  that  is,  about  700  acres.  200  acres  are  cleared 
in  town  and  100  acres  of  roads.  By  increasing  the 
number  of  factories  we  expect  to  increase  the  town 


THE   FIRST    PROBLEMS  85       — 

population,  and  in  this  way  to  create  a  local  market 
for  the  farm  surplus. 

"Our  educational  facilities  are  yet  small,  but  we  have 
opened  two  temporary  schools  with  an  attendance  of 
100  children  and  also  a  night  school  for  adults  with 
25  to  30  in  attendance.  I  and  my  new  co-worker, 
Arthur  Reichow,  are  trying  to  induce  the  Fund  to 
build  a  central  education  institution,  where  manual 
training  and  improved  scientific  and  agricultural 
studies  will  be  connected  with  public  education;  that 
is,  to  create  a  'People's  University.*  This  would  be 
practicable,  since  the  State  will  be  willing  to  bear  one- 
half  of  the  expense  in  starting  and  supporting  such 
an  institution.  The  State  of  New  Jersey  is  very  liberal 
in  this  direction.  I  am  only  sorry  that  the  people  do 
not  all  make  use,  as  yet,  of  the  liberal  support  offered 
to  them  by  their  State.  You  see,  my  friend,  what  a 
really  wonderful  field  for  splendid  work  there  is  here 
for  me  in  every  line,  every  direction.  But  in  case  my 
work  is  not  appreciated,  as  it  often  happens  that  sin- 
cere and  earnest  workers  do  not  succeed  in  accomplish- 
ing what  is  so  dear  to  them,  and  if  I  aip  compelled  to 
seek  another  field  of  activity,  I  shall  look  forward  to 
working  with  you.  But  I  would  then,  and  only  then, 
consider  your  kind  offer. 

"Yours, 

"H.  L.  Sabsovich.'' 

Very  soon  after,  in  February,  1893,  my  husband,  the 
idea  seeming  to  have  taken  hold  of  him,  wrote  on 
the  subject  of  the  "People's  University"  to  Judge 
Meyer  Isaacs,  then  President  of  the  Fund. 


86  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

"My  Dear  Judge: 

"I  am  so  glad  that  you  are  considering  an  industrial 
and  agricultural  school  in  connection  with  the  public 
school.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  Woodbine  would  be 
the  first  place  in  this  State  where  public  education 
would  be  carried  on  upon  such  an  improved  basis. 
From  the  lowest  grades  up  our  children  will  be  taught 
to  become  useful  and  self-supporting  members  of  the 
community.  An  agricultural  education  is  the  more 
necessary  for  them,  who  have  not  the  inherited  senti- 
ments of  the  farmer's  son,  which  often  saves  him  for 
the  rural  life.  We  have  to  implant  an  industrial  and 
agricultural  spirit  in  our  children,  and  this  will  take 
from  our  race  some  of  the  blame  we  are  subjected  to 
in  the  world.  Many  western  agricultural  colleges 
have  introduced  a  system  of  paying  five  to  ten  cents 
an  hour  for  work  in  the  fields  or  in  the  shop,  in  order 
to  enable  the  boys  and  girls  to  earn  a  little  money,  and 
thus  partly  lift  the  burden  from  the  parents*  shoulders 
during  their  schooling.  If  we  introduce  such  a  system 
into  our  schools,  we  shall  save  our  girls  of  thirteen  and 
fourteen  years  of  age  from  the  factories,  inasmuch 
as  they  will  earn  $1.50  to  $2.50  a  week,  an  amount 
large  enough  to  pay  their  parents  for  their  board. 
Especially  in  field  and  garden  work  we  may  expect 
some  returns." 

A  few  months  later  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Julius  Goldman 
on  the  same  subject,  and,  among  other  things,  says: 

"Farming  is  becoming  an  art  and  a  science,  and  I 
do  not  doubt  that  our  government  will  soon  see  that 
secondary  schools  should  have  agricultural  and  in- 
dustrial departments." 


THE   FIRST    PROBLEMS  87 

In  another  letter  he  writes: 

*T  have  received  a  copy  of  a  Trenton  paper  (the 
Daily  State  Gazette)  which  I  send  you  by  this  mail. 
You  will  find  there  the  article:  *The  Farmers  in  Ses- 
sion/ and  you  will  see  the  one  point  I  am  after,  and 
which  I  have  been  advocating  lately:  teaching  agri- 
culture in  public  schools — is  earnestly  discussed." 

He  was  ever  reluctant  to  engage  any  personal  friend 
to  work  in  Woodbine,  fearing  misunderstandings  and 
the  breaking  of  friendship.  One  Summer  day  I  hap- 
pened to  be  in  New  York  and  found  that  an  old  friend 
of  ours  who  had  been  a  high  school  teacher  on  the 
other  side,  was  in  New  York  with  his  family.  I  went 
at  once  to  see  them  and  found  them  in  terrible  straits, 
all  their  money  nearly  gone,  the  friend's  eyesight  badly 
affected,  and  he  in  poor  health.  His  health  would 
be  assured,  I  was  told,  if  he  could  work  in  the  country 
somewhere.  I  returned  next  day  to  Woodbine,  and 
told  my  husband  of  the  meeting. 

"Why,"  he  said,  "I  am  in  a  position  to  help  him  at 
once,  as  I  am  badly  in  need  of  a  teacher  of  mathe- 
matics." This  was  exactly  the  position  he  had  occupied 
in  the  high  school  on  the  other  side.  My  husband 
wrote  to  him  to  come,  which  he  did.  For  about  two 
years  he  was  a  teacher  in  the  loft  above  the  bam, 
which  had  been  turned  into  the  Agrictdtural  School. 

One  day  he  told  my  husband  that  he  was  eager  to 
go  back  to  the  old  country,  but  that  he  did  not  have 
any  savings.    He  asked  my  husband  to  keep  him  on 


88  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

the  payroll  for  two  or  three  months  after  he  left,  to 
tide  him  over.  This  was  flatly  refused.  My  husband 
said  that  under  no  circumstances  would  he  do  a  thing 
like  that.  Not  only  did  the  friendship  break,  but  the 
man,  at  a  banquet  tendered  him  by  his  New  York 
friends  on  the  occasion  of  his  departure,  villified  my 
husband.  Our  dear  friend  Kaplan,  who  attended  the 
banquet,  arose  and  told  the  guests  that  he  knew  the 
merits  of  the  case  better,  and  would  not  allow  a  man's 
name  to  be  slandered  who  was  blameless,  especially 
when  not  there  to  defend  himself. 

And  this  was  only  one  of  numerous  cases  where 
sincere  devotion  to  inborn  high  standards  in  work  was 
his  unfailing  guide,  even  at  the  risk  of  jeopardizing 
life-long  friendships. 


CHAPTER  XI 

UNREST  AMONG  THE  COLONISTS 

T5UT  a  serious  trouble,  not  destined  to  be  so  lightly 
•■^  met  and  settled,  was  brewing  for  my  husband. 
Under  the  leadership  of  a  person  whose  main  joy  in 
life  was  meddling,  the  farmers  conferred  and  decided 
they  would  not  pay  the  interest  due  the  Fund,  although, 
when  applying  for  farming  land,  each  of  them  had 
signed  a  paper  agreeing,  in  ten  years'  time,  to  return 
every  cent  loaned  him,  with  interest.  The  conditions 
had  been  made  very  clear  to  them — every  angle  of 
the  transaction  having  been  explained. 

When  my  husband  was  confronted  with  this  refusal 
of  the  farmers  to  pay  the  amount  due,  he  was  exceed- 
ingly indignant.  He  was  unable  to  view  the  matter 
from  their  viewpoint  at  all.  Being  a  man  always 
ready  to  give,  but  reluctant  to  take,  he  tried  to  show 
them  that  their  stand  in  the  matter  revealed  a  lack  of 
pride  and  dignity.  He  told  them  he  could  not  con- 
ceive how  they  could  wish  to  obtain  something  for 
nothing ;  especially  as  it  had  been  a  clear  business  deal 
between  the  Fund  and  the  farmer  from  the  beginning. 
The  well-defined  position  of  Baron  de  Hirsch,  who 
donated  the  money,  and  the  Committee  administering 

89 


90  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

it,  had  been  from  the  start  that  of  loaning  means  for 
every  applicant  to  make  a  beginning  as  a  farmer.  He 
recalled  to  the  men  the  point  of  honor  made  by  the 
very  first  Jews  arriving  in  the  American  Colonies, 
when  they  vowed  never  to  allow  any  one  of  their  num- 
ber to  become  a  public  charge,  never  to  accept  charity. 

My  husband  told  them  that  he  had  too  much  re- 
spect for  Jews  to  think  of  the  colonists  assuming,  at 
that  late  day,  any  other  position.  It  hurt  him,  he 
explained,  that  the  men  he  had  always  fought  for  so 
consistently,  should  have  assumed  this  strange  attitude. 
He  always  had  felt  especially  happy  when  he  had  been 
able  to  convince  the  Committee  on  other  occasions  that 
the  farmers  were  in  the  right,  for  he  had  been  thor- 
oughly in  sympathy  with  them  and  their  families  in 
the  time  when  they  were  undergoing  hardships  in  their 
pioneer  life  in  Woodbine,  and  he  begged  them  to  con- 
sider the  matter  in  the  true  and  righteous  light  of 
honest  men. 

Anxious  to  act,  as  always,  as  clear-headed  mediator 
in  his  trying  position,  he  had  written  to  Dr.  Goldman 
under  date  of  March  1,  1893,  before  the  trouble  over 
interest  payments. 

"I  strongly  advocate  more  help  for  the  farmers.  I 
would  suggest  that  we  advance  them  $100  each  to 
plow  and  harrow  the  land;  for,  though  they  earned 
good  money  during  the  first  year  of  Woodbine's  exist- 
ence, still,  considering  that  everyone  had  to  build  a 
new  home,  and  besides  that,  send  a  considerable  amount 


UNREST   AMONG   THE    COLONISTS    91 

of  money  to  Russia  to  bring  their  families  over,  and 
to  invest  some  on  their  farms,  it  is  easy  to  realize  that 
of  their  earnings  they  could  save  nothing.  By  helping 
them  to  improve  their  farms  v^e  shall  the  sooner  free 
them  from  our  wardship.  After  all,  they  are  our 
wards !" 

But,  in  their  refusal  to  pay  their  interest  to  the 
Fund  my  husband  could  not  and  would  not  take  sides 
with  them,  and  a  hard  struggle  began. 

In  the  simplicity  of  character  which  was  his,  he 
could  show  strength  when  it  was  demanded.  He  knew 
that  he  stood  for  the  right  and  that  it  would  prevail 
in  the  end.  He  felt  that  the  farmers  were,  for  the  time 
being,  blinded  to  the  truth. 

The  fight  thus  begun  lasted  over  a  year.  The 
farmers  demanded  the  deeds  for  their  lands,  which 
they  had  refused  to  pay  for,  making  the  claim  that 
Baron  de  Hirsch  had  intended  the  farms  as  gifts, 
not  loans.  (Baron  de  Hirsch  had  died  shortly  before 
the  dispute  began. ) 

My  husband  tried  to  make  the  farmers  understand 
that  their  plan  would  take  the  form  of  charity  dis- 
pensed to  them,  but  they  could  not  see  it  in  that  way. 
The  meddler,  before  mentioned,  who  had  originally 
come  to  Woodbine  as  a  worker  in  the  pay  of  the  Com- 
mittee, began  to  play  on  their  lower  instincts.  His 
scheming,  like  that  of  all  his  kind,  was  underhanded 
and  trouble  soon  developed  of  an  alarming  nature.  The 
farmers  stopped  working  their  land,  and  meeting  se- 


92  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

cretly  day  and  night  and  conspiring,  threatened  to  kill 
my  husband  and  burn  his  home.  They  ceased  to  greet 
him  civilly,  or  even  speak  to  him  unless  business  ne- 
cessitated and  compelled  them  to  go  to  his  office. 
Young  and  old  showed  the  greatest  animosity,  and 
although  they  did  not  know  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"boycott,"  that  was,  in  fact,  what  it  amounted  to. 

In  explanation  my  husband  wrote  to  Mr.  Reichow, 
regarding  this  phase  of  the  struggle: 

'T  am  just  sick  at  heart !  It  is  easy  for  you  in  New 
York  to  philosophize ;  but  here  I  am,  face  to  face  with 
indignities,  insults,  sour  remarks.  These  last  two  days 
here  I  can  never  forget.  I  tremble  all  over — I  cannot 
think — my  mind  is  in  a  whirl.  I  have  had  more  ex- 
citement than  I  can  endure." 

A  few  days  later  he  again  wrote: 

"What  reasonable  human  good  can  you  expect  from 
people  who  are  risking  their  own  welfare  and  that  of 
their  families  simply  because  someone  has  told  them 
that  the  leases  are  no  good?  They  want  to  see  the 
Committee;  especially  Mr.  Jacob  Schiff  and  Mr.  Jesse 
Seligman,  in  whom  they  say  they  'have  the  utmost  con- 
fidence.' The  most  reasonable  demand  the  farmers 
make  is  that  the  time  be  extended  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-four  years,  with  no  interest  whatsoever.  I  can 
see  where  the  extension  of  time  might  be  granted.  I 
often  wonder  whether  they  are  children  or  fools,  or 
both  together?" 

In  another  letter,  to  Mr.  Reichow,  he  says: 

"A  reporter  sent  by  Mr.  Goodale  has  come  on  be- 


UNREST   AMONG   THE    COLONISTS    93 

half  of  the  farmers.  It  seems  to  me  this  reporter 
does  not  care  to  find  out  the  truth;  he  only  wants  to 
arouse  public  opinion  favorable  to  the  agitating  farm- 
ers. I  know  that  their  case  will  be  lost  when  brought 
before  a  court  (and  to  keep  out  of  court  is  the 
farmers'  aim) ;  but  I  see  disaster  for  Woodbine  if 
legal  proceedings  are  not  taken  up." 

In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Goldman,  he  says: 

"We  must  take  decided  action.  Soon  the  public 
will  know  the  -truth — that  the  settlers  want  to  become 
owners  of  the  farms  without  paying  for  them." 

Ten  days  later  he  wrote  Mr.  Reichow: 

"I  am  trying  to  bury  my  feelings,  trying  to  be  calm, 
but  it  costs  me  my  health.  I  feel  so  uneasy  every  time 
I  have  to  leave  Woodbine  on  business  that  I  shall  have 
heart  failure.  I  begin  to  lose  courage.  I  am  afraid  I 
am  becoming  quixotic.  Threats  are  being  made  open- 
ly, and  I  am  warned  by  several  outsiders  to  be  cau- 
tious. I  do  not  pay  much  attention  to  these  threats, 
but  my  family  is  very  much  worried  about  me.  I 
would  perhaps  resign,  but  not  until  I  see  justice  done, 
even  if  my  life  is  in  danger." 

To  Mr.  Jacob  Schiff,  April  18,  he  wrote: 

"My  dear  Mr.  Schiff: 

*T  thank  you  so  much  for  your  confidence  and  the 
support  you  give  me  in  our  just  fight  with  the  farmers 
here.  Let  us  hope  that  daylight  will  soon  break, 
peace  and  order  be  restored,  and  the  quiet  development 
of  our  community  be  uninterrupted." 


94  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

A  few  days  later  in  a  ten-page  letter  to  Dr.  Goldman, 
he  said,  among  other  things: 

"I  have  experienced  another  grave  disappointment. 
I  called  a  meeting  of  all  the  farmers  in  the  factory, 
and  showed  them  how  ridiculous  and  unjust  their 
demands  are,  how  ruinous  it  will  be  to  them  to 
cling  to  their  ring-leaders  (and  all  the  ring-leaders 
were  present  on  the  occasion).  I  came  to  them  ready 
to  forgive  and  forget  all,  eager  only  to  create  a  golden 
bridge  of  reconciliation,  bringing  words  of  harmony. 
Instead  of  taking  my  advances  in  the  true  spirit,  their 
ring-leaders  explained  my  move  as  weakness.  I  am 
afraid  now  that  only  by  exercising  our  rights  to  the 
full  extent  shall  we  move  them  from  this  demoralizing 
and  misleading  stand  of  theirs.*' 

The  trouble-maker  sent  one  article  after  another  to 
the  press,  depicting  my  husband  as  the  "man  ruling 
Woodbine  like  the  Czar  of  Russia."  We  all  know  that 
even  the  best  of  men  have  enemies  who  prick  up  their 
ears,  ready  to  listen  to  the  charges  of  a  scandalmonger. 
My  husband  never  replied  to  these  attacks.  He  felt 
that  he  was  above  such  slander.  Several  newspapers 
offered,  for  certain  sums  of  money,  to  publish  favor- 
able reports  of  him  and  of  his  work.  He  closed  his 
door  on  their  agents  as  an  answer. 

My  husband  still  labored  in  the  interest  of  the 
farmers,  having  to  deal  with  jealousies  that  arose  not 
only  among  co-workers,  as  in  the  rumor  of  careless 
bookkeeping,  but  from  other  sources  as  well.  The 
stubborn  dissatisfaction  of  the  farmers  hurt  him  in- 


UNREST   AMONG   THE    COLONISTS    95 

tensely,  since  he  knew  it  was  so  ill-founded.  From 
the  day  that  he  came  to  Woodbine  he  had  always  had 
to  battle,  sometimes  on  behalf  of  the  farmers,  some- 
times his  own.  But  now,  receiving  one  shock  after 
another,  the  accumulation  of  anxieties  seriously  af- 
fected his  health.  The  breakdown  came  very  suddenly 
one  night  in  December,  1893. 

We  had  been  visiting  dear  friends  in  the  village, 
and,  on  our  way  home,  he  collapsed  suddenly  in  the 
street.  Mrs.  Lipman  and  I  carried  him  to  the  nearest 
house.  It  was  then  midnight.  We  sent  for  a  doctor, 
who,  upon  examining  him,  shook  his  head  gravely. 
He  was  moved  the  next  morning  to  his  own  home, 
where,  for  two  months,  he  lay  dangerously  ill.  As 
soon  as  he  was  able  to  leave  his  bed,  the  physician 
advised  a  sojourn  in  a  warmer  climate,  for  it  was  a 
very  cold  February.  As  he  was  simply  convalescent, 
he  could  not  safely  travel  alone,  so  his  eldest  daughter, 
Marie,  went  with  him.  She  was  not  yet  eight,  but 
a  most  capable  little  woman  and  devoted  nurse.  They 
spent  six  weeks  in  Florida,  where  he  recovered  his 
strength.  Returning,  he  felt  quite  himself  again,  as 
he  resumed  his  work. 

The  disputes  and  differences  with  the  farmers  had 
not  been  settled,  and  daily  he  had  to  meet  and  deal 
with  them  and  to  sense  their  unchanged  animosity. 
Very  soon,  too,  trouble  started  in  the  factory.  He  was 
always  the  arbitrator  of  disputes  between  employer 
and  worker,  and  he  put  every  effort  into  a  settlement 


96  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

of  the  grievances  of  the  working  people,  but  aggra- 
vation followed  upon  aggravation,  and  at  the  end 
of  May  he  had  a  relapse.  His  life,  even,  was  des- 
paired of. 

For  two  long  months  there  was  a  race  between  life  ■■ 
and  death.  Having  always  been  a  man  of  the  most 
temperate  habits,  life  for  the  second  time  won  the 
race.  In  his  convalescent  period  he  went  to  a  boarding 
house  in  the  Catskills,  kept  by  Mrs.  Augusta  Lenson, 
and  she  and  her  charming  daughters  gave  him  such 
wonderful  care  that  the  summer  spent  there  wrought 
a  miracle.  He  left  us  a  bundle  of  bones  scarcely  cov- 
ered with  flesh,  and  returned  a  man  in  the  full  flush 
of  health.  By  the  end  of  August  he  had  gained  thirty- 
five  pounds.  He  began  to  broaden  out,  the  hollows  of 
his  cheeks  filled,  and  he  looked  the  picture  of  health. 
How  he  changed  after  this  severe  illness  may  be  illus- 
trated by  this  interesting  incident.  In  1889,  our  first 
year  in  New  York,  he  had  received  a  letter  from  a 
friend  of  his,  a  chemist  in  Odessa,  asking  him  to  find 
out  the  prices  of  certain  chemicals.  This  made  it 
necessary  for  him  to  go  to  the  Stock  Exchange.  He 
never  knew  how  he  did  it,  but  he  reached  a  certain 
window  inside  the  Exchange.  In  his  broken  speech 
he  asked  a  few  questions.  The  man  at  the  window 
very  angrily  inquired  how  he  had  gained  admittance. 
Not  having  the  least  idea  that  there  was  a  sanctum 
sanctorum  there,  where  not  every  mortal  could  be  ad- 
mitted, he  replied,  simply:  "Why,  nobody  stopped  me!*' 


UNREST   AMONG   THE   COLONISTS    97 

Then  the  man  looking  at  him  more  keenly,  began  to 
smile,  and  said: 

"No  wonder !  You  are  the  image  of  Jay  Gould  and 
our  new  doorkeeper  must  have  taken  you  for  him." 

But  in  later  years,  people,  on  seeing  him,  would  often 
remark  that  they  had  never  seen  a  more  striking  re- 
semblance to  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant.  Never  having  seen 
either  Jay  Gould  or  Gen.  Grant,  he  was  greatly  amused 
that  at  different  periods  of  his  life  he  had  been  thought 
to  resemble,  in  feature,  two  men  so  widely  different 
from  each  other  and  from  himself. 

While  my  husband  was  staying  in  the  Catskills  with 
his  oldest  daughter,  a  fourth  daughter  was  born  to  him. 
He  was  very  fond  of  Dr.  Julius  Goldman,  and  had  been 
hoping  for  a  chance  to  name  a  son  for  him;  but  the 
boy  disappointed  him  by  turning  out  to  be  a  girl.  So 
the  best  we  could  do  was  to  call  her  Julia. 

September,  1893,  came,  and  still  the  farmers  were 
obdurate.  My  husband  tried  to  make  them  realize 
how  ruinous  their  attitude  was.  They  had  not  tilled 
their  fields  that  Spring,  and  a  whole  year's  crops  were 
lost.  He  assured  them  that  neither  in  a  court  of  law, 
nor  in  a  court  of  arbitration  would  their  case  ever  stand 
a  test,  as  it  had  no  moral  nor  legal  justification;  but 
they  were  deaf  to  all  remonstrance  and  dead  to  reason, 
and  in  November  they  entered  a  suit  against  the  Baron 
de  Hirsch  Fund.  The  case  was  heard  at  the  Cape  May 
Court  House — Dr.  Goldman,  Judge  Isaacs  and  my 
husband  representing  the  Fund. 


98  ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

The  judge  before  whom  the  case  came  for  trial 
found  no  cause  for  action  in  the  farmer's  complaint. 
With  but  sHght  consideration  he  dismissed  the  case, 
stating  that  there  was  not  then  nor  ever  had  been  any 
moral  nor  legal  ground  for  action. 

The  farmers  were  apparently  astounded  at  the 
prompt  adverse  decision.  For  a  whole  year  the  Com- 
mittee and  my  husband  had  been  unable  to  induce  the 
farmers  to  sense  that  which  the  court,  in  its  official 
capacity,  had  caused  them  to  realize  in  half  an  hour. 
When  my  husband  left  the  courtroom,  he  found  the 
farmers  gathered  in  an  indeterminate  group,  appar- 
ently too  astonished  to  decide  what  to  do  next.  It 
occurred  to  him  that,  having  had  so  many  things  to 
do  in  Woodbine,  he  might  have  overlooked  some  just 
cause  for  dissatisfaction. 

So,  with  this  thought  in  mind,  he  approached  them. 
He  ignored  all  past  insults,  all  former  animosity,  and 
passing  over  what  very  few  men  would  have  done, 
invited  them  to  his  home  with  these  words: 

**The  law  has  decided  against  you,  but  bring  me 
your  old  leases,  and  we  will  see  if  we  cannot,  in  a 
mutual  spirit  of  kindliness,  do  better  than  you  alone 
could  do  in  a  state  of  anger." 

That  night  the  farmers  gathered  at  the  house,  and 
great  was  their  amazement  to  find  that  the  man  whom 
they  had  tormented,  whose  home  they  had  threatened 
to  mob  and  burn,  was  as  ready  to  concede  their  just 
claims,  as  of  old.     My  husband  had  prevailed  upon 


UNREST   AMONG   THE    COLONISTS    99 

the  Committee  to  make  some  important  concessions  in 
the  leases,  and  when  they  were  explained  it  was  a  dif- 
ferent group  of  farmers  who  left  the  house. 

**Now  that  we  understand  one  another/*  said  my 
husband,  "we  shall  get  along,"  and  with  renewed  con- 
fidence on  each  side  they  parted. 

Never  was  there  a  happier  man  than  my  husband 
that  night.  The  farmers'  hearts  were  won  back  to  him, 
and  from  that  time  there  was  no  doubt  in  their  minds 
that  his  heart  was  wholly  theirs;  that  he  cared  for 
each,  individually,  and  that  in  time  of  trouble  they 
could  be  sure  of  receiving  all  the  sympathy  for  which 
they  had  need. 

My  husband  was  a  man  of  vision  and  large  dreams. 
He  felt  and  knew  that,  with  peace  in  sight,  constructive 
work  for  Woodbine  would  begin  again.  Many  plans 
for  the  good  of  the  colonists  were  in  his  mind  and 
one  enterprise  after  another  was  suggested  to  the  Fund 
Committee,  as  he  knew  that  the  public-spirited  group 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  men  who  made  up  the 
Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  Committee  was  more  than 
anxious  to  see  the  colonists  prosper. 

A  dispute  presently  arose  between  the  manufacturers 
and  the  working  people  regarding  the  Sabbath  rest. 
The  manufacturers,  for  purely  economic  reasons, 
wanted  Sunday  as  the  day  of  rest.  The  working 
I>eople,  many  of  them  orthodox  Jews,  insisted  on  Sat- 
urday as  their  Sabbath.  My  husband  was  not  ortho- 
dox himself.     To  the  services  of  the  synagogue  he 


100         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

had  never  been  drawn,  because  it  was  for  him  only  a 
splendid  tradition.  His  religion  was  the  brotherhood 
of  man.  But  he  clearly  sensed  the  viewpoint  of  the 
people  and  brought  all  his  influence  to  bear  to  obtain 
a  ruling  that  in  the  colony  whistles  should  not  call 
the  people  to  work  on  the  sixth  day  of  the  week.  And 
to  this  day  Saturday  is  the  day  of  rest  in  Woodbine. 


CHAPTER  XII 


ADDED  INDUSTRIES 


]\ /TORE  factories  were  erected;  more  houses  sprang 
^^-^  up  in  the  little  village.  The  first  needle  factory 
changed  hands  several  times  until  Mr.  Rabinovich  took 
charge  of  it.  Twenty-four  years  before  he  had  come 
out  as  the  manager  of  the  largest  factory,  and  is  to-day 
the  owner  of  the  largest  plant  in  Woodbine.  During 
the  World  War  as  many  as  eight  hundred  people  were 
engaged  in  his  clothing  factory,  making  war  supplies. 
Needless  to  say  that,  coming  to  Woodbine  a  very  poor 
man,  he  is  to-day  very  rich. 

A  machine  plant  was  also  started  by  Morris  L. 
Bayard,  who,  as  a  poor  laborer,  at  first  dug  the  wells 
and  set  the  pumps  for  the  Woodbine  farms  and  town 
homes.  He  had  then  only  a  small  supply  shop,  a 
shanty  eight  feet  by  ten,  but  through  the  years  he  has 
become  the  most  prosperous  man,  not  only  in  Wood- 
bine, but  in  the  whole  coimty.  He  was  always  keenly 
alive  to  every  opportunity,  and  my  husband  often  re- 
marked that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  help  a  man  like  that. 

"Give  him  one  push,"  he  would  often  say  when  other 
mechanics  thought  he  was  partial  to  Bayard  in  award- 
ing contracts,  "and  he  flies  so  far  that  it  is  hard  to 
catch  "him." 

101 


102        'APVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

A  tool  factory  was  opened,  a  basket  factory — which 
lasted  only  a  few  years — a.  knitting  mill  and  a  hat  fac- 
tory. Some  of  these  concerns  are  working  there  to- 
day; some  have  changed  hands  and  removed. 

Several  dozen  five-room  houses  were  built  around 
them  and  the  ensemble  made  up  the  industrial  center 
of  Woodbine.  The  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  built  the 
houses,  gave  them  to  the  tenants  on  a  first  mortgage, 
and  by  paying  eight  dollars  a  month  each  man  be- 
came, in  eight  or  ten  years,  the  owner  of  his  little 
dwelling.  Remembering  that  these  people  had  come 
from  either  the  pale  of  settlement  in  Russia,  where 
they  had  existed  in  utter  poverty;  or  from  the  slums 
of  New  York  or  Philadelphia,  where  a  whole  grown 
family  would  be  crowded  into  two  or  three  rooms,  it 
may  be  imagined  that  this  bright,  cheerful,  sunny, 
little  house,  set  on  a  large  plot  of  ground,  appeared 
to  them  a  veritable  paradise. 

My  husband's  interest  in  the  workingmen's  cause 
brought  him  into  difiiculties.  The  manufacturers 
said  that,  owing  to  his  "interference,"  the  working- 
men  were  leaving  them.  In  answer  to  this  charge, 
he  wrote: 

"You  know,  my  dear  Mr.  Reichow,  as  well  as  I 
do,  that  it  is  the  higher  wages  that  workingmen  earn 
in  other  places;  that,  and  only  that  causes  the  migra- 
tion of  the  employee — ^not  Sabsovich." 

The  economic  depression  of  1893  affected  the  cloak 
industry  unfavorably  and  the  decreased  demand  led 


ADDED    INDUSTRIES  103 

to  a  partial  suspension  of  work  in  the  Woodbine  fac- 
tory. The  discontent  among  the  workers  and  the 
strikes  that  followed  caused  the  plant  to  shut  down 
entirely.  Many  farmers  left,  unable  to  earn  a  living 
either  from  their  land  or  in  the  factory.  Those  who 
remained  were  given  work  cutting  wood,  pulling 
stumps  or  clearing  the  town  land  to  make  streets. 
Some  picked  huckleberries  and  some  worked  in  the 
canning  factory  nearby.  In  pursuing  this  course  my 
husband  anticipated  a  method  of  dealing  with  the  prob- 
lem of  unemployment,  which  has  since  been  widely  dis- 
cussed, but  only  here  and  there  put  into  action. 

By  1894-95,  however,  the  outlook  became  brighter 
with  the  opening  of  another  factory.  After  that  a  few 
other  plants  were  established  and  the  little  place  steadily 
grew  in  population. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

STRENGTHENING    THE    NEW    ALLEGIANCE 

'TT^HE  little  village  at  this  period  presented  a  very 
-*-  pretty  appearance.  The  streets  were  lined  with 
two  rows  of  poplars,  which  had  grown  so  richly  that  in 
Summer  they  afforded  perfect  shade.  Grass-plots 
bordering  the  sidewalks  added  to  the  fresh  beauty  and 
repose  of  the  scene.  In  fact,  Woodbine  then  became 
really  a  large  park.  It  was,  however,  much  more 
than  simply  ornamental.  It  had  grown  into  a  good- 
sized  village,  several  new  stores — grocery,  drygoods, 
shoe  and  hardware — ^having  recently  been  opened. 

But,  attractive  as  the  village  was,  my  husband  had 
plans  to  improve  it  still  further.  He  was  invited  to 
address  one  of  the  Saturday  afternoon  women's  meet- 
ings, and,  amongst  other  plans,  announced  on  that  oc- 
casion his  intention  of  offering  prizes  for  the  cleanest 
and  best-looking  house  fronts  and  yards;  remarking 
that  he  was  ready  to  supply  free  all  the  plants  and 
flowers  any  dweller  wished  to  use.  That  set  the  ball 
rolling.  Each  family  tried  to  outdo  the  other  in  mak- 
ing the  prettiest  showing,  and  the  result  more  than 
justified  his  hopes.    From  that  season  on,  Woodbine 

104 


THE    NEW   ALLEGIANCE  105 

has  each  successive  Summer  resolved  into  a  veritable 
flower-garden  of  beauty  and  fragrance. 

In  1892  the  first  schoolhouse  was  built  at  one  end 
of  the  farm  settlement.  Two  years  later  the  need  for 
another  arose,  and  this  was  erected  at  the  opposite  end 
of  the  town.  Several  years  later  still  another  school 
was  built  in  the  center  of  the  village  itself.  A  kinder- 
garten, the  very  first  to  open  in  Cape  May  County — 
settled  for  over  two  hundred  years — was  started  and 
conducted  by  a  very  intelligent,  wide-awake  girl,  whose 
work  was  quickly  appreciated  by  the  parents  of  the 
children.  Only  teachers  of  the  highest  standing  avail- 
able were  considered  for  the  school  service,  and  with 
its  splendid  group  of  instructors  and  bright,  ambitious 
pupils.  Woodbine  soon  had  reason  to  be  proud  of  the 
showing  at  the  county  commencement,  where  the  girls 
and  boys  received  the  official  meed  of  highest  merit. 
With  such  activities  as  public  lectures  and  frequent  en- 
tertainments of  an  intellectual  character,  Woodbine 
rapidly  became  the  center  of  the  county's  mental 
activity. 

My  husband  was  an  enthusiast  for  Americanization, 
as  he  fully  appreciated  the  difference  between  the  in- 
stitutions and  conditions  our  colonists  lived — or, 
rather,  suffered  under — in  the  places  they  came  from 
abroad,  and  the  conditions  and  institutions  they  were 
fortunate  enough  to  enjoy  in  this  country.  Not  an 
Independence  Day,  or  a  Washington's  or  Lincoln's 
Birthday  passed  unnoticed.     In  fact,  the  utmost  care 


106         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

was  taken  to  have  the  best  speakers  from  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  as  guests  for  these  occasions.  The 
school  teachers  would  prepare  an  ambitious  school  en- 
tertainment and  the  significance  of  the  day  was  touched 
upon  from  every  possible  angle.  The  celebration  would 
begin  in  the  morning  at  the  schoolhouse  and  end  at 
night  in  the  big  hall,  with  speeches  and  dancing. 

Educational  work  in  Woodbine  was  so  active  that 
my  husband  could  not  bear  to  have  anything  interfere 
with  its  progress.  On  one  occasion,  August,  1904,  he 
wrote  this  letter  to  the  School  Board  of  Dennis  Town- 
ship: 

"Sirs: 

"The  new  district  law  has  deprived  us  of  home  rule. 
For  us  in  Woodbine  educational  facilities  are  of  a  very 
vital  character.  The  conduct  of  educational  matters  in 
Woodbine  is  carried  on  by  a  Board  consisting  of  the 
trustees  of  two  school  districts,  the  teachers  and  myself. 
Often  the  parents  are  called  in  to  aid  the  board  and 
teacher  in  improving  the  behavior,  manners  or  general 
appearance  of  the  children.  The  board  tries  to  interest 
the  parents  in  school  matters;  tries  to  bring  forward 
the  spirit  of  American  principles  and  inculcate  Ameri- 
can patriotism  through  the  children  into  the  homes. 

"This  explains  why  we  felt  alarmed  when  we  learned 
about  the  new  Townships  School  Act,  passed  by  our 
legislators  in  the  interest  of  the  Republican  principles 
of  concentration  of  power  to  the  detriment  of  Demo- 
cratic principles  of  home  rule.  Therefore  we  welcome 
your  apparent  desire  to  help  us  to  return  to  home  rule 
in  Woodbine  school  management." 


THE   NEW   ALLEGIANCE  107 

He  also  said  in  this  letter: 

"Manual  training  and  physical  culture  in  the  public 
schools  should  be  the  first  step  toward  developing  a 
sound  mind  in  a  sound  body." 

This  will  show  that  his  ideas  on  education  were 
several  decades  ahead  of  time. 

While  on  the  subject  of  the  public  schools  of  Wood- 
bine I  must  not  neglect  to  relate  what  happened  in 
connection  with  the  large  Central  School,  the  fourth 
one  built.  For  a  few  years  my  husband  had  felt  that 
Woodbine  was  large  enough  to  have  a  graded  school, 
also  a  high  school  in  the  center  of  the  village.  By  this 
time  we  had  a  number  of  boys  and  girls,  graduated 
from  public  school,  attending  Millville  High  School, 
twenty-five  miles  away.  This  bi-daily  trip  was  quite 
a  strain  upon  the  students,  and  my  husband  felt  it 
should  be  spared  them.  There  were,  besides,  other 
children  rapidly  growing  up  to  high  school  age.  The 
township,  he  knew,  would  share  the  cost  of  the  building 
and  upkeep  of  such  a  school ;  but  it  would  mean  a  some- 
what heavier  taxation  for  the  Woodbine  people.  The 
same  troublemaker  who  had  figured  in  the  farmers' 
strike  began  to  prejudice  the  people  against  such  a 
project,  bringing  forward  the  argument  that  this  would 
mean  a  financial  burden  for  them  in  extra  taxation. 
The  appropriation  of  funds  for  the  building  of  this 
educational  center  and  high  school  would  have,  of 
course,  to  be  voted  upon  by  the  citizens  of  Woodbine. 


108         ADVENTURES   IN    IDEALISM 

My  husband  was  so  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  great 
need  for  such  a  school  that,  to  make  sure  that  it  would 
not  be  outvoted  by  the  hostile  forces — working  in  the 
dark  and  led  by  the  man  who  never  played  fair — ^he 
called  all  the  women  to  be  present  at  a  meeting.  (In 
New  Jersey,  women  had  the  right  to  vote  on  school 
appropriations — partial  suffrage.)  He  explained  the 
situation  to  them,  and  when  the  day  for  voting  the 
school  appropriations  came,  not  a  woman  remained  at 
home,  and  the  resolution  for  the  building  of  the  Central 
School  was  carried  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

In  1903  the  school  was  built  and  it  is  not  only  the 
pride  of  Woodbine,  but  of  the  county,  the  people  of 
which  send  many  a  boy  and  girl  to  it.  Woodbine  High 
School  was  the  stepping-stone  of  many  ambitious 
young  folks  to  a  fundamental  education  and  a  larger 
life.  All  those  who  had  been  misled  to  vote  against 
the  appropriation  for  the  school  realized  their  mistake 
in  the  years  that  followed,  and  felt  abashed  when  they 
came  to  witness  the  graduation  of  their  own  offspring 
and  sensed  the  splendid  results  achieved  by  them. 

Two  years  after  the  school  was  built  the  School 
Board  felt  that  a  fence  which  might  cost  about  $400  or 
$500  was  needed  for  it.  My  husband  called  a  meeting 
of  all  the  Woodbine  settlers  and  laid  the  plan  before 
them.  It  was  decided  that  an  entertainment  in  the 
large  hall  of  the  Central  High  School  would  be  an 
effective  way  of  raising  the  funds.  Though  some 
people  thought  that  Woodbine  could  not  raise  more 


THE   NEW   ALLEGIANCE  109      _ 

than  a  hundred  dollars,  they  lost  out  in  their  surmise, 
for  the  full  amount  was  collected,  and  never  did  I  see 
a  more  enthusiastic  gathering,  nor  one  more  ready  to 
spend  freely. 

The  dedication  of  the  Central  High  School  took 
place  on  Columbus  Day,  1905.  About  five  hundred 
children  gathered  in  the  assembly  room,  entering  four 
by  four,  headed  by  their  teachers,  where  they  partici- 
pated in  a  program  of  patriotic  exercises.  The  build- 
ing, which  was  crowded  with  people,  inside  and  out, 
was  decorated  with  American  flags. 

The  program  started  with  the  "Star-Spangled 
Banner,"  followed  by  "The  Flag  of  the  Free."  Patri- 
otic speeches  were  delivered  by  some  of  the  specially 
invited  guests  and  by  my  husband,  who  always  reached 
the  hearts  of  young  and  old  quickly  with  sincere  and 
earnest  words.  Mr.  A.  S.  Solomons,  who  graced  every 
grand  occasion  in  Woodbine,  and  in  whom  American- 
ization of  the  immigrant  boys  and  girls  had  a  staunch 
supporter,  presided  at  the  exercises.  Old  Glory  was 
unfurled,  and  as  it  floated  over  the  beautiful  white 
head  of  this  venerable  man,  he  raised  his  hand  and  the 
five  hundred  children,  looking  straight  at  him,  recited 
clearly  and  strongly: 

"Flag  of  our  great  republic!  Inspirer  of  battle! 
Guardian  of  our  homes  I  Whose  stars  and  stripes  stand 
for  truth,  bravery,  purity  and  union,  we  salute  thee! 
We,  the  children  of  distant  lands,  who  find  rest  beneath 
thy  folds,  do  pledge  ourselves,  our  hearts,  our  sacred 


no         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

honor,  to  love  and  protect  thee,  our  country  and  the 
liberty  of  the  American  people  forever !" 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  people  assembled  knew  no 
bounds  and  the  vjslls  rang  with  cheers. 

My  husband  was  imbued  with  a  truly  democratic 
spirit.  He  met  everyone  on  a  footing  of  equality,  with 
the  simplicity  of  a  truly  good  nature  unburdened  by 
conventional  prejudices.  One  of  the  yearly  Teachers' 
Institutes  was  held  in  Woodbine.  Among  the  assem- 
bled teachers  was  a  colored  woman.  During  the  session 
she  read  an  extremely  interesting  paper  on  education, 
and  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  discussion  that  fol- 
lowed. My  husband  acted  as  host.  He  invited  the 
association  to  meet  in  Woodbine,  and,  as  a  special  cour- 
tesy, ordered  a  dinner  at  the  hotel  and  summoned  them 
all.  When  the  guests  had  been  seated,  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  table  with  the  president  of  the  association, 
a  Southerner,  at  his  right  hand,  he  noticed  that  the  col- 
ored teacher  was  not  with  them.  Leaving  his  place,  he 
went  in  search  of  her,  and  came  upon  her  in  one  of 
the  adjoining  rooms  opening  a  dinner-basket.  In 
answer  to  his  inquiry  why  she  had  not  availed  herself 
of  his  invitation  to  dinner,  she  said  that,  as  a  colored 
woman,  she  thought  she  was  not  included.  He  imme- 
diately escorted  her  to  the  table  and  placed  her  beside 
himself,  on  the  left.  He  remained  quite  indifferent  to 
the  storm  of  criticism  evoked  from  the  President  and  a 
few  others  who  entertained  the  same  prejudices. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

BRINGING   SCIENCE  TO   THE  FARMERS 

TF  my  husband  was  interested  in  public  schools  and 
-*"  in  the  subject  of  general  education  in  Woodbine, 
he  was  even  more  deeply  devoted  to  the  task  of  pro- 
viding agricultural  training  for  the  young  sons  of  the 
farmers,  and  so  teaching  them  to  grow  up  good  farm- 
ers themselves.  From  the  very  first  he  had  felt  that 
the  success  of  the  colony  would  depend  upon  the  theo- 
retical instruction,  as  well  as  the  practical  guidance 
that  the  farmers  would  get.  The  latter  they  must  have, 
of  course.  They  would  be  shown  how  to  do  things. 
But,  as  he  was  well  aware,  the  Jewish  mind  is  ever 
busy  with  the  "why  and  wherefore"  of  moves  and 
actions.  If  his  queries  cannot  be  convincingly  an- 
swered, his  interest  cannot  be  firmly  held. 

Here  was  a  group  of  ex-tailors,  ex-shoemakers,  ex- 
peddlers  and  ex-sewing-machine  operators.  Their 
minds  had  developed  along  certain  lines  of  skill  and 
shrewdness;  and  if  these  men  were  to  become  good 
farmers,  their  minds  must  be  nourished  and  satisfied 
while  their  unused  muscles  were  being  trained.  Each 
man  must  be  made  to  understand  why  it  was  good  to 
be  a  farmer,  apart  from  mere  self-interest,  wherein 

111 


112         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

work  with  the  soil  Is  satisfying;  and  how  a  man  can 
overcome  the  handicaps  and  trials  Nature  imposes  on 
him  on  the  road  to  successful  husbandry.  The  native 
farmer,  whose  family  has  lived  on  the  land  for  many 
generations,  has  grown  up  with  this  knowledge.  The 
love  of  the  soil  is  in  his  veins,  and  that  is  what  makes 
him  keep  to  the  farm  in  spite  of  discouragements.  My 
husband  felt  that  this  entire  farming  tradition  must 
be  built  up  if  Woodbine  colonists  were  to  become  and 
remain  the  equals  of  the  native  farmers.  Therefore 
he  intended  that  the  colonists  should  be  instructed  in 
every  branch  of  the  theoretical  and  practical  knowl- 
edge that  would  make  for  a  farmer's  success.  Not 
only  this,  but  he  meant  to  bring  up  the  sons  of  the 
farmers,  from  the  beginning,  to  imderstand  and  love 
the  work  on  a  farm. 

We  had  tried  to  develop  the  social  side  of  life  in 
Woodbine  so  that  the  young  folks  might,  have  an  outlet 
for  their  natural  love  of  fun.  There  should  be  nothing 
of  the  dull,  uninviting  farm  life  about  our  Woodbine 
Colony!  And  my  husband  worked  constantly,  as  I 
have  shown,  to  have  so  many  schools  and  such  good 
schools  in  Woodbine  that  the  growing  minds  of  the 
youngsters  would  find  ample  food  and  opportunity  for 
growth.  Now  he  felt  he  could  turn  to  the  job  that 
interested  him  most  of  all.  He  was  going  to  build  up 
a  thorough  system  of  agricultural  education  that  should 
develop  the  best  material  among  the  farmers*  sons ;  that 
should  cultivate  professional  ambition  among  the  boys, 


1 

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BRINGING   SCIENCE   TO   FARMERS     113      -^ 

and  show  them — to  quote  my  husband's  own  words — 
"how,  by  the  aid  of  science  and  the  practical  experience 
of  other  farmers,  to  make  farming  as  profitable  as 
other  professions  are." 

This  compelling  dream  of  his  had  to  take  shape  with 
a  small  beginning.  As  soon  as  the  colony  was  well  es- 
tablished, my  husband  began  a  series  of  weekly  con- 
ferences, to  which  the  farmers  and  their  grown-up 
sons  were  invited.  Every  Saturday  afternoon  they 
would  meet  in  the  hall  of  the  village  to  receive  instruc- 
tion in  farming,  and  to  talk  over  their  plans  and  the 
results  of  their  work.  These  lectures  were  given  in 
the  form  of  explanation  and  comment  on  stereopticon 
views.  This  proved  to  be  a  good  method  of  giving 
theoretical  instruction  to  men,  who,  although  their 
minds  were  active,  were  not  used  to  getting  informa- 
tion from  lecture  or  textbooks.  As  my  husband  said 
in  one  of  his  reports: 

"As  we  are  dealing  with  a  class  of  people  who  know 
little  of  the  English  language  and  are  not  otherwise 
prepared  for  mental  work  requiring  concentration,  the 
method  to  be  used  should  be  picture  teaching,  or  ad- 
dressing the  mind  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
eye,  that  is,  teaching  by  illustration.  The  practical 
training  in  the  different  kinds  of  work  in  the  field  and 
garden  and  orchard  can  go  on  together  with  an  ex- 
planation in  these  picture  talks  of  the  anatomy  of 
plants  and  trees,  etc.,  and  the  best  methods  of  feeding 
cattle,  dairying  and  raising  poultry,  I  shall  also  have 
demonstrations  of  the  newest  machines  for  tilling  the 


114         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

soil,  incubation  and  dairy-work.  These  lectures  we 
want  to  make  so  attractive  that  our  American  neigh- 
bors will  become  interested  in  them,  too.  I  am  plan- 
ning to  show  with  the  magic  lantern  pictures  that  are 
both  useful  and  interesting — specimens  to  illustrate 
the  construction  of  a  leaf,  the  circulation  of  food  in 
an  animal's  body,  the  nature  of  fungi,  and  of  insects 
attacking  our  plants." 

He  put  both  of  these  plans  for  the  theoretical  and 
practical  instruction  of  the  farmers  into  action,  and 
the  Saturday  afternoon  lectures  proved  so  beneficial 
that  it  was  decided  to  build  a  large  barn  on  Farm  No. 
60,  the  upper  story  of  which  was  to  be  used  as  a  lecture 
room.  But  while  in  course  of  construction  the  plan  of 
the  upper  hall  was  changed,  and  built  so  as  to  make 
it  available  for  school  purposes.  This  was  the  first 
home  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Agricultural  School. 

During  the  preparatory  period  of  the  school  (March 
to  October,  1894)  forty-two  pupils  were  registered. 
The  Woodbine  farmers  sent  their  sons,  and  so  did 
Alliance,  Carmel,  Rosenheim — the  neighboring  South 
Jersey  colonies — ^and  Jewish  farmers  all  over  the  coun- 
try. The  first  students  could  not  receive  a  systematic 
course  of  lectures,  as  the  school  was  not  yet  fully 
organized,  but  they  were  given  practical  instruction  in 
the  planting,  grafting  and  care  of  fruit  trees  and  in 
the  growing  of  garden  truck  and  field  crops.  Mean- 
while the  Model  Farm  did  much  to  advance  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  farmers  in  general,  to  whom  the  country, 
soil  and  climate  conditions  were  unknown  when  they 


BRINGING    SCIENCE    TO    FARMERS     115 

came  from  their  ghettos — whether  in  the  cities  of  the 
old  world  or  New  York  or  Philadelphia. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  mention  here,  as  an  example 
of  my  husband's  care  for  the  individual  students  as 
well  as  the  general  welfare  of  all  collectively,  the  case 
of  two  young  boys,  the  sons  of  Woodbine  farmers. 
They  were  unusually  bright  and  intelligent  and  he 
realized  that  all  they  needed  was  a  chance.  He  saw 
in  them  good  teachers  and  future  farm-inspectors,  who 
would  be  all  the  more  useful  because  they  spoke  the 
language  of  the  Jewish  farmers.  He  did  not  purpose 
to  keep  them  waiting  until  the  Agricultural  School 
should  grow  up  to  their  needs.  He  devised,  therefore, 
a  plan  for  their  training  and  the  Fund  gave  him  per- 
mission to  carry  it  out. 

Shortly  after  peace  had  been  made  with  the  farmers, 
he  called  the  two  boys  in  one  day,  and  asked  them 
whether  they  would  like  to  go  to  college.  It  was,  in 
effect,  the  same  as  asking  them  whether  they  would 
like  to  live  in  bright  sunshine  or  deep  darkness!  It 
was,  of  course,  the  dream  of  their  young  lives  1  But, 
they  explained,  they  could  not  become  a  burden  to  their 
families,  whom  they  were  trying  to  support.  My  hus- 
band then  revealed  his  plan.  They  should  work  two 
or  three  hours  each  day  clearing  bushes  and  stumps 
from  Farm  No.  60,  earning  pay  enough  to  maintain 
themselves,  and  the  rest  of  the  day  they  might  study 
to  prepare  themselves  for  college.  The  two  boys  were 
given  lessons  in  English,  with  a  few  others,  and  once 


116         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

a  week  lectures  on  various  subjects  in  agriculture.  In 
eight  months  the  two  were  ready  for  the  Rutgers  Col- 
lege entrance  examinations,  and,  after  attending  for 
four  years,  they  both  graduated  with  the  highest 
honors.  To-day  they  are  scientists,  one  of  them  being 
of  international  reputation — the  greatest  authority  on 
soil  analysis — Dr.  Jacob  G.  Lipman.  The  establish- 
ment of  the  Agricultural  School  and  the  scholarships 
meant  that  the  Fund  stood  ready  to  do  as  much  for 
any  other  promising  pupil. 

The  classes  in  the  new  Agricultural  School  went 
ahead.  The  natural  sciences — subjects  such  as  botany, 
chemistry  and  physiology — ^were  taught  by  my  hus- 
band. Specialized  branches  of  agriculture,  such  as 
poultry  raising,  bee-keeping  and  dairying  were  taught 
by  Frederick  Schmidt  his  assistant;  while  the  general 
subjects,  including  drawing,  were  supervised  by  an 
alumnus,  Jacob  Kotinsky,  of  Rutgers  College.  Five 
hours  were  devoted  to  school  work,  and  not  less  than 
five  to  farm  work.  Everything  went  well.  The  ex- 
hibits of  farm  products  and  the  results  of  the  school 
work  at  the  county  fair  at  the  Court  House,  the  Jewish 
Fair  in  Philadelphia,  and  the  National  Poultry  Fair 
in  Washington,  D.  C,  furnished  proof  of  the  efficacy 
of  the  instruction. 

The  school,  at  this  time,  had  more  spirit  than  body. 
There  were,  as  yet,  no  dormitories,  and  the  pupils 
either  lived  with  their  parents  or  boarded  in  the  fam- 
ilies of  the  colonists. 


bJO 

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CHAPTER  XV 

A  PIONEER  OF  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOLS 

^T^HE  real  school  was  organized  three  years  later. 
"^  In  1897  large  dormitories,  with  spacious  bed- 
rooms, assembly  rooms,  reading  and  dining  rooms, 
were  built  on  Farm  No.  62,  and  a  large  brick  school 
building  was  erected,  with  all  kinds  of  laboratories. 
A  matron,  cook  and  other  workers  were  employed 
to  take  care  of  the  physical  needs  of  the  one  hundred 
boys,  and  also  a  governor  and  staff  of  teachers  in  gen- 
eral and  agricultural  branches.  A  teachers'  cottage 
was  built  on  the  same  grounds,  so  that  a  little  colony 
within  a  colony  was  made. 

The  students  were  trained  in  practical  work  includ- 
ing the  raising  of  crops,  caring  for  the  live-stock, 
working  in  the  dairy,  the  apiary,  the  hothouse,  the 
nursery  and  the  shops.  The  apiary  was  a  special  fea- 
ture. It  was  located  in  the  center  of  the  orchard,  and 
the  honey  which  the  bees  produced  was  the  finest  in 
New  Jersey.  In  the  mechanical  shop  a  little  of  black- 
smithing,  plumbing,  carpentry,  medicine  and  veterinary 
surgery  were  taught.  This  was  designed  to  make  the 
prospective  farmer  equal  to  any  need  or  emergency  that 
might  arise  on  his  farm.  Nor  was  the  marketing  side 
of  the  farmer's  work  neglected.    In  the  poultry  plant 

117 


118         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

the  students  were  taught  how  to  use  incubators,  and 
the  method  of  packing  poultry  for  market.  The  new- 
est of  agricultural  implements — mechanical  ploughs, 
seeders,  reapers  and  binders — were  used  by  the  boys 
of  the  school.  In  fact,  so  complete  was  the  equipment, 
that  a  miniature  weather  bureau  was  fitted  up  on  the 
top  of  the  fifty-foot  tower  in  the  center  of  the  Agri- 
cultural School  grounds.  This  had  all  the  necessary 
instruments,  and  the  students  took  daily  observations. 

The  order  of  the  school  day  was  thus:  The  boys 
would  rise  at  6:30,  take  a  cold  shower,  dress  and  start 
their  daily  work.  They  were  led  about  the  farm,  which 
covered  300  acres,  absorbing  from  actual  experience 
knowledge  of  the  cultivation  of  orchards,  vineyards 
and  greenhouses,  and  of  the  care  of  live-stock.  Then, 
at  ten,  the  day's  toil  was  over,  and  the  bell  called  all 
to  bed  and  to  rest. 

Students  of  both  sexes  were  admitted  to  the  Agri- 
cultural School.  I  remember  the  incident  which  led 
to  the  opening  of  a  department  therein  for  girls.  One 
afternoon  a  girl  of  fifteen,  the  daughter  of  one  of  the 
farmers,  came  to  see  my  husband  to  complain,  with 
bitter  tears,  of  her  unhappy  home.  Her  father,  having 
lost  his  wife,  had  married  a  new  one,  who  was  proving 
the  proverbial  step-mother.  What  was  the  girl  to  do? 
Where  was  she  to  go  ?  My  husband  could  not  see  her 
go  without  helping  her,  and  it  occurred  to  him  at 
once:  Why  not  give  her  a  chance  to  study  all  branches 
of  housekeeping  and  some  branches  of  farming? 


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AGRICULTURAL   SCHOOL   PIONEER     119 

This  was  his  precedent  for  opening  a  girls*  depart- 
ment in  the  Agricultural  School.  In  the  teachers* 
cottage,  occupied  by  the  matron  and  her  staff,  the  upper 
floor  was  fitted  up  for  the  use  of  the  girls.  A  course 
in  cooking,  general  housework,  mending  and  sewing 
was  started,  under  the  direction  of  our  amiable  and 
able  matron,  the  late  Mrs.  Jennie  Steinberg.  Work  in 
the  hothouse,  courses  in  English,  arithmetic  and  other 
studies  in  the  schoolroom  completed  the  curriculum  of 
the  fifteen  girls  who  were  found  ready  to  enter  the 
department.  In  return  for  the  instruction  given  them 
they  assisted  Mrs.  Steinberg  in  taking  care  of  the 
dormitories  and  keeping  house  for  the  hundred  or 
more  boys. 

With  the  high  standards  of  accomplishment  insisted 
upon  by  my  husband  in  the  school,  only  those  teachers 
were  employed  who  were  able  and  willing  to  carry  on 
the  work  in  the  right  spirit.  In  answering  an  applicant 
for  the  position  of  governor,  he  said: 

"It  is  superfluous  for  me  to  state  that  the  position 
is  a  very  important  one,  involving  a  great  many  moral 
responsibilities.  Only  a  person  who  has  zeal  and  en- 
thusiasm for  our  work  need  apply.  We  should  like 
to  have  a  man  who  loves  boys  and  is  a  teacher  by 
calling." 

It  was  not,  by  any  means,  a  light  task  to  control  the 
school  and  to  ensure  the  contentment  of  the  boys  at 
all  times.  During  the  winter  months  life  was  easy, 
as  there  was  no  field  work;  but  in  summer  the  boys 


120         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

were  particularly  apt  to  be  boys.  They  sought  any 
and  every  excuse  to  "kick."  And  "kick'*  they  did.  One 
day,  I  recall,  in  July,  when  the  matron  was  unable  to 
work,  some  trivial  item  of  the  meal  was  missing,  and 
the  boys  went  on  a  strike.  My  husband  had  gone  to 
Philadelphia  on  business,  and  learned  of  the  strike  only 
on  his  return.  He  was  very  indignant  and  wrought  up. 
He  trembled  with  anger  and  annoyance.  Going  to  the 
school,  he  at  once  called  the  boys  into  assembly,  and 
desired  to  be  told  their  side  of  the  story.  It  developed 
that  they  had  no  "side"  worth  presenting.  They  had 
no  reason  whatsoever  for  complaint.  After  a  talk  he 
informed  those  who  still  felt  that  the  substitution  of 
jam  for  butter,  in  an  emergency,  was  sufficient  reason 
for  their  conduct — especially  considering  the  fact  that 
they  were  receiving  free  food,  clothes,  lodging  and  tui- 
tion— ^that  they  would  be  given  railroad  fares  and  re- 
quested to  leave. 

A  very  good  idea  of  the  school's  activities  and  stand- 
ards may  be  formed  from  an  article  on  Woodbine 
which  appeared  in  Hoard's  Dairyman  in  1902.  It 
read: 

"The  Agricultural  School  is  well  housed  and 
equipped  with  capable  teachers,  in  charge  of  about  one 
hundred  and  ten  students.  The  dairy,  a  credit  to  any 
institution,  is  in  charge  of  Joseph  W.  Pincus,  a  Storrs 
College  graduate.  A  fine  dairy  it  is,  with  barns  and 
silos.  The  dairy  boys,  and  indeed  most  of  the  agri- 
cultural students,  are  from  the  city,  and  in  many  cases 


AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOL   PIONEER     121        — 

from  an  orphans'  home  or  from  Hester  Street,  and 
are  sent  here  to  be  trained  as  farmers  and  as  useful, 
independent  men. 

"The  course  in  dairying  starts  with  stable  manage- 
ment. The  written  examination  has,  as  its  first  ques- 
tion: *Why  a  stable?*  and  then  the  whys  and  where- 
fores of  stable  management  have  to  be  written  out  in 
full.  When  this  course  is  mastered,  the  milk  room 
education  is  taken  up,  a  primary  course  which  would 
be  of  great  advantage  to  seven  out  of  ten  dairymen 
in  the  whole  country.  In  a  booklet  issued  by  the  Wood- 
bine Dairy  is  told  how  the  animals  are  kept  in  clean, 
ventilated,  light  stables.  A  veterinary  certificate  shows 
the  cows  are  free  from  disease.  The  milking  is  done 
by  young  men  of  clean  habits.  The  cows'  milk,  after 
being  weighed,  is  removed  to  the  milk  room  and 
strained,  when  it  is  conducted  to  the  cooler.  It  is 
there  immediately  bottled  and  put  into  the  refrigerator. 
The  milk  is  analyzed  twice  a  month.  Needless,  to 
say,  all  pails,  strainers  and  utensils  are  thoroughly 
sterilized. 

"Mr.  Joseph  W.  Pincus,  whose  fine  bearing  and 
handsome  face  make  him  a  general  favorite  with  visi- 
tors, and  seem  to  fit  him  for  a  fashionable  drawing- 
room  rather  than  for  a  farm,  took  us  one  day  on  a 
tour  of  inspection  of  his  dairy,  which  he  has  made  a 
model  for  all  the  country.  He  pointed  out  eighteen 
pedigreed  cows  with  the  whimsical  remark  that  he 
would  be  at  a  loss  for  names  for  any  addition  to  the 
herd,  as  he  had  already  exhausted  the  names  of  all 
his  sweethearts!" 

The  school  commencements  always  took  place  early 
in  the  spring,  as  the  graduates  and  often  the  under- 


122         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

graduates  had  to  leave  for  positions  which  were  offered 
them  in  all  parts  of  the  Union.  The  Agricultural 
School  during  the  very  first  years  of  its  experience 
graduated  some  of  its  brightest  pupils  into  agricul- 
tural colleges,  and  found  good-paying  work  for  many 
others  who  have  since  become  supervisors  or  foremen 
on  farms,  competent  florists,  poultrymen  and  heads  of 
large  stock  farms. 

The  school  semesters  were  later  arranged  to  be  even 
more  elastic  for  the  convenience  of  the  students.  A 
boy  spent  one  whole  year  at  school ;  then,  in  the  second 
summer,  he  was  sent  out  to  hold  a  position  in  which  he 
would  earn  both  money  and  experience.  In  the  winter 
he  came  back  to  school  again.  Thus  his  stay  at  the 
school  would  be  for  one  summer  and  three  winters — 
an  arrangement  particularly  well  adapted  to  farm 
life. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  a  systematized  account  and  to 
show  in  figures  just  what  the  school  accomplished  for 
the  boys;  but  my  husband  always  liked  to  tell  of  one 
case  that  in  his  estimation,  stood  out  prominently.  A 
boy  of  about  eighteen  entered  the  school.  He  could 
speak  very  little  English.  All  his  moral  make-up  was 
rather  repulsive  and  to  have  him  near  was  irritating. 
He  was  neither  bright  in  the  class-room  nor  industrious 
in  the  field.  He  did  nothing  that  would  warrant  our 
keeping  him  in  the  school;  but,  at  the  same  time,  he 
did  nothing  that  would  serve  as  an  excuse  for  sending 
him  away.    So  nearly  eight  months  passed  without  a 


AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOL   PIONEER     123 

sign  that  our  school  had  done  anything  for  him  except 
increase  his  weight  and  improve  his  general  health. 

But  one  day  he  entered  the  office  and  told  my  hus- 
band and  Dr.  Boris  Bogen,  the  principal,  that  he  had 
learned  a  little  English ;  that  his  parents  needed  his  help 
badly;  and  that  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  go  out  and  work 
for  a  living  and  to  support  them.  He  said  that  he  ap- 
preciated deeply  what  the  school  had  done  for  him  and 
added  that  while  he  might  stay  and  learn  a  little  more 
during  the  winter  months,  he  would  be  obliged  to  leave 
in  the  summer,  just  when  he  might  be  of  some  use.  He 
felt  that  this  would  be  unfair  to  the  school.  When  he 
came  to  take  leave  we  tried  to  induce  him  to  accept 
some  warm  clothing  as  a  little  start,  until  he  should 
secure  work,  but  he  declared  that  the  school  had  done 
enough  for  him  already,  and  that  he  would  wear  the 
old  clothes  in  which  he  came  to  us. 

My  husband  and  Dr.  Bogen  felt  that  the  boy  showed 
much  independence  and  self-respect.  Surely  the  school 
had  left  its  good  impress  on  him,  but  as  to  his  show- 
ing on  the  record,  he  had  done  us  no  credit.  So  much 
had  been  spent  on  him,  with  nothing  tangible  to  show 
on  the  books;  yet  few  of  our  graduates  could  reveal 
more  gratifying  results  of  what  we  had  done  for 
them! 

As  another  and  final  tribute  in  relation  to  the  Agri- 
cultural School  work,  I  may  insert  a  letter  which  speaks 
for  itself,  coming  as  it  does  from  a  student  who  had 
to  leave  before  his  course  was  completed: 


124        ADVENTURES    IN   IDEALISM 

"My  dear  Professor  Sabsovich: 

"You  know  that  I  left  for  the  sake  of  my  parents. 
I  tried  hard  to  convince  them  by  letter  that  I  had  so 
much  better  advantage  in  the  Woodbine  Agricultural 
School,  but  I  did  not  succeed.  Just  as  a  child  who 
leaves  his  father  and  mother  and  brothers  and  sisters 
is  sorry,  so  I  am  sorry.  I  loved  your  institution  so  well 
for  all  the  good  it  was  doing  me  and  the  rest  of  the 
boys.  I  am  far  away  now,  but  it  does  not  keep  me 
from  wishing  you  and  the  pupils  you  direct  success 
and  the  chance  to  make  out  of  your  institution  one  that 
shall  be  the  praise  of  the  Jewish  people." 


CHAPTER  XVI 


WOODBINE  ENTERTAINS 


TT rOODBINE  had  become  a  civic  entity.  It  had 
^^  been  developed  from  a  rustic  wilderness;  first, 
into  a  rather  formless  colony;  then  into  a  neat  and 
charming  little  township.  Men  unaccustomed  to  axe 
and  spade  had  cut  down  hundreds  of  acres  of  trees  and 
laid  model  roads,  which  were  well-graded  and  drained, 
the  best  roads  the  county  had. 

The  next  necessary  step  was  the  building  of  a  com- 
modious country  hotel.  The  only  place  where  visitors 
could  be  entertained  up  to  that  time  was  our  house. 
There  was  not  a  day  that  one  or  more  visitors  would 
not  come  on  business  to  see  my  husband,  often  without 
any  previous  notice.  I  would,  about  11.30,  receive 
word  from  my  husband  that  one,  two  or  even  four 
guests  were  coming  to  dinner.  "Please  be  ready  for 
us,"  would  be  his  message.  It  was  a  heavy  task  in 
every  way,  and  though  after  the  hotel  was  built  we 
often  entertained  at  our  table,  then  it  was  by  our  own 
choice. 

Very  distinguished  visitors  were  thus  received.  For 
the  little  colony  among  the  New  Jersey  pines  had 

125 


126         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

begun  to  attract  national  and  even  international  atten- 
tion. The  experiment  had  ceased  to  be  an  experiment 
and  now  pointed  the  way  for  a  much  wider  application. 
The  numerous  visitors  were  not  merely  curiosity  seek- 
ers but  men  and  women  of  practical  vision  seeking  the 
man  who  had  blazed  trails  they  were  following. 

I  well  remember  how,  one  beautiful  morning,  when 
my  husband  was  expecting  Gen.  Booth-Tucker  and 
Mr.  Morris  Pels,  on  the  same  train  with  them  came 
Miss  Voltairine  de  Qeyre,  a  leader  of  the  anarchist 
group  in  Philadelphia.  My  husband  and  I  were  quite 
worried  as  to  how  the  dinner  would  proceed  in  a  social 
way,  having  at  one  table  a  leader  of  the  Salvation 
Army;  a  devoted  representative  of  the  principles  of 
ethical  culture;  and  a  fanatical  exponent  of  free 
thought,  free  love  and  so  on.  But  the  splendid  way  in 
which  my  husband  turned  the  conversation  into  certain 
channels  effectively  prevented  a  single  break;  not  a 
hitch  took  place,  and  for  hours  we  sat  after  the  meal, 
talking  on  different  topics,  the  three  leaders  in  their 
respective  movements  leaving  with  the  greatest  ad- 
miration for  each  other. 

The  very  same  year  the  great  Russian  writer,  Vlad- 
imir Korolenko,  while  on  a  tour  of  the  United  States, 
visited  Woodbine  and  spent  three  days  with  us.  He 
could  not  admire  enough  the  results  that  had  been 
accomplished  in  the  colony,  and  some  time  after  his 
return  to  Russia  my  husband  received  the  following 


WOODBINE    ENTERTAINS  127 

characteristic  communication  from  him,  which  I  trans- 
late: 

"N  i  j  ni-Novgor  od, 
*'Sept.  10,  1894. 
"My  dear  Woodbine  Moses: — 

"I  should  not  be  surprised  if  in  that  fine  Woodbine 
town  Vladimir  Korolenko  is  being  badly  scolded;  he, 
who  in  spite  of  his  promise  to  write  about  Woodbine, 
hasn't  even  answered  your  letter.  But,  if  in  Woodbine 
they  could  know  just  what  happened  to  Vladimir 
Korolenko  during  this  time,  they  would  be  more  lenient 
with  him. 

"First:  Do  you  remember  my  story  of  my  little 
girl,  whom  I  left  back  in  Russia?  I  then  told  you 
how  she  had  held  on  to  my  neck  and  would  not  let 
go.  I  well  remember  recounting  this  story  one  evening, 
when  we  were  all  gathered  around  your  samovar — 
September  1,  according  to  the  Russian  calendar — ^but 
there  was  no  more  Lyolya  at  that  time.  I  found  a 
telegram  upon  my  arrival  in  Paris,  announcing  her 
death.  My  wife,  who  was  at  the  time  visiting  her 
brother  in  Rumania,  was  unaware  of  the  fact,  and  I 
had  to  take  her  this  sad  news.  For  six  long  nights 
and  days  without  a  stop  I  was  traveling  to  Galetz  and 
then  to  Tulchz.  Now,  what  is  there  to  say?  You  will 
easily  comprehend  my  feelings  at  the  time.  Upon  my 
return  t-o  Russia  my  two  other  little  girls  became  ill 
with  diphtheria,  one  after  another  in  my  sister's  home ; 
a  boy,  already  in  high  school,  took  scarlet  fever  and 
died  four  days  later. 

"These  were  the  conditions  that  met  me  upon  my 
return  to  Russia.  Now  you  see  clearly  the  reason  why 
I  did  not  write  to  you.    As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  have 


128        ADVENTURES   IN   IDEALISM 

only  just  begun  to  make  use  of  my  note-book  on  Amer- 
ica, and  have  not  yet  published  anything  regarding  my 
tour.  Every  time  I  have  taken  up  my  papers  and 
notes,  a  sharp  pain  in  my  heart  would  blight  every 
thought  and  inspiration.  So,  will  you  forgive  me,  my 
dear  Sabsovich.'*  Do  you  not  see  how  far  from  the 
outside  world  and  from  letter-writing  I  was? 

"Please  do  write  me  again  about  yourself,  about  the 
sweetest  of  little  girls,  Marusya,  and  about  every  one 
of  your  family,  and  do  it  quickly. 

"Now  that  misfortune  and  heart-pain  have  left  me 
for  a  while,  I  have  begun  working  on  the  "American 
Impressions."  Possibly  I'll  start  to  publish  them  from 
October  in  Rtisskoje  Bogatstvo. 

"First — will  be  England.  Woodbine  I  will  devote 
one  big  article  to.  I'll  be  very  grateful  to  you  if  you 
will  send  me  the  very  latest  news  about  your  life.  But 
the  most  important  thing — after  all — ^will  be  an  assur- 
ance that  you  are  not  angry  with  me;  that  you  are 
enjoying  good  health ;  and  that  you  do  not  forget  your 
(against  his  will)  ungrateful  Woodbine  visitor. 

"Meanwhile,  I  shake  your  hand  heartily. 
"Your 

"Vl.  Korolenko. 

"I  will  send  you  my  book  within  a  week  or  two." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

NEW  INSTITUTIONS 

'TT^O  its  Other  glories  Woodbine  had  added  also  this 
■■'  distinction:  It  had  become  a  very  fine  health  re- 
sort. A  young  woman,  ill  from  overwork  as  a  teacher 
in  one  of  the  New  York  schools,  visited  Woodbine, 
where  she  had  friends,  to  recuperate.  She  returned 
to  the  city  in  splendid  health,  and  in  her  exuberant 
gratitude,  thus  wrote  of  the  place: 

"I  shall  always  remember  Woodbine  with  a  feeling 
of  pride  for  our  Jewish  brothers  who  seek  to  eke  out 
a  living  by  earnest  and  honest  labor  on  the  farm  and 
in  the  several  factories.  There  is  so  much  that  is 
praiseworthy  in  Woodbine — its  plodding  and  enthusi- 
astic inhabitants,  combined  with  its  healthful,  life- 
giving  surroundings,  that  the  three  weeks  of  my  stay 
there  can  never  be  effaced  from  my  memory,  and  as 
to  its  effects  upon  my  physical  condition,  I  hope  they 
will  be  permanent." 

This  letter  and  those  of  many  others  who  happened 
to  spend  their  vacations  in  Woodbine  brought  to  my 
husband  the  idea  of  turning  one  of  the  farms  into  a 
sanatorium,  to  give  city-dwellers  suffering  from  incip- 
ient tuberculosis  a  chance  to  find  new  health.    A  farm- 

129 


130        ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

er*s  wife  was  engaged  to  take  care  of  the  place  and 
attend  to  the  needs  of  the  visitors.  It  was  made  a 
rule  that  no  limit  whatsoever  must  be  put  on  the  food. 
Guests  were  to  have  eggs,  butter,  cheese,  milk  and 
vegetables,  meat — all  they  wanted  and  could  consume. 
Of  course  the  Committee  supplied  these  needs  free  of 
charge. 

The  sanatorium  existed  for  over  a  year  and  the  re- 
sults were  splendid.  With  what  gratitude  did  the  ail- 
ing ones  who  arrived  there  pale,  with  hollow  cheeks, 
leave  the  place  after  a  stay  of  five  to  eight  weeks,  gain- 
ing sometimes  from  twenty  to  thirty  pounds. 

The  people  of  Woodbine  began  to  feel  that  they 
were  entitled  to  a  synagogue.  For  years  they  had  wor- 
shipped in  temporary  quarters;  but  the  Woodbine 
Brotherhood  decided  now  to  build  its  own  house  of 
worship.  (This  was,  in  itself,  a  sufficient  sign  that 
the  colony  had  become  a  success!)  They  subscribed 
very  liberally  toward  the  erection  of  the  building.  The 
Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  loaned  them  money  on  the 
first  mortgage ;  two-thirds  of  the  entire  cost  in  all.  The 
brick  used  in  building  was  made  on  one  of  the  farms 
where  the  soil  was  clay,  and  the  structure  was  amply 
planned:  fifty  feet  wide  and  two  stories  high.  The 
lower  one,  which  was  particularly  well  lighted,  was 
used  for  years  as  a  school  room  for  the  Congregation. 
Religious  instruction  was  given  in  the  afternoon,  kin- 
dergarten classes  were  held  there  in  the  morning,  and 
evenings  and  Saturdays  the  various  clubs  and  organ- 


NEW   INSTITUTIONS  131 

izations  met  there.  Woodbine  was  thus  ahead  of  the 
times  in  utilizing  its  pubHc  buildings  to  the  full. 

We  celebrated  the  dedication  of  the  structure  in  fine 
style.  Dr.  Morris  Jastrow  officiated.  The  members 
of  the  congregation,  in  order  of  seniority,  carried  the 
six  Scrolls  of  the  Law  for  the  three  circuits  about  the 
synagogue;  the  Ark  then  was  opened  and  the  scrolls 
deposited.  The  key  of  the  synagogue  was  presented 
by  a  little  girl.  Herman  Rosenfeld,  the  President  of 
the  Brotherhood,  a  brilliant  man  of  whom  any  com- 
munity might  have  been  proud,  accepted  the  key,  with 
a  few  happy  words. 

Notwithstanding  the  inclement  weather,  the  visitors 
spent  a  few  very  pleasant  hours  visiting  the  schools, 
the  factories,  the  sanatorium  and  other  places  of  in- 
terest. 

An  incident,  however,  occurred,  which  might  have 
made  the  happy  occasion  end  very  sadly.  We  were  to 
entertain  at  a  lunch  from  fifty  to  sixty  outsiders — 
guests  from  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore — 
and  at  supper  all  the  Woodbine  settlers.  There  was  a 
great  deal  of  work  to  be  done  and  my  husband  asked 
me  to  take  charge  of  the  affair.  To  be  assured  that 
some,  at  least,  of  my  co-workers  would  be  with  me 
from  the  start,  I  asked  about  eight  girls  to  come  and 
stay  over  night  at  my  home.  At  3  a.  m.  we  arose  and 
were  greeted  by  a  most  unpleasant  and  unwelcome 
sound.  A  heavy  rain  was  pouring  floods  on  the  roof 
and  into  our  windows!    Fortunately,  true  to  our  pre- 


132         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

vious  arrangement,  Mr.  Schmidt,  always  ready  to  help, 
was  at  the  door  with  a  large  covered  wagon.  We  all 
jumped  in  and  drove  to  the  new  building,  which  was 
some  distance  from  the  house.  Leaving  the  first  load 
of  persons  and  parcels,  he  returned  for  another,  bring- 
ing in  addition  a  half-dozen  more  volunteer  workers. 
At  4  a.  m.  the  whole  staff  was  ready  to  begin  work, 
and  there  was  much  work  to  be  accomplished  by  noon. 

At  1  p.  m.  all  the  tables  were  set  and  the  whole 
S3niagogue  beautifully  decorated  with  plants  and  flow- 
ers and  bunting.  The  tables  were  laden  with  the  finest 
examples  of  culinary  art  that  Woodbine  housewives 
could  produce — ^roasted  turkeys,  chickens,  geese  and 
ducks;  salads  of  every  description;  entrees  of  every 
sort;  home  preserves  and  canned  fruits;  jams  and  mar- 
malades; cakes,  strawberry  and  grape  wines. 

In  another  twenty  minutes  the  visitors  were  ex- 
pected !  It  was  time  to  make  the  coffee !  A  gasoline 
stove  was  brought,  and  one  of  the  workers  turned  on 
the  flow  of  gasoline,  but,  whether  through  excitement 
or  inexperience,  did  not  shut  it  off.  At  once  we  were 
horror-stricken!  A  great  flame  shot  up  to  the  very 
ceiling,  and  an  unearthly  scream  arose  of:  "Fire; 
Fire!"  With  marvelous  presence  of  mind,  one  of  the 
young  girls  covered  her  hair  and  face  with  a  wet  towel, 
ran  forward  and  turned  off  the  flow  of  gasoline.  But 
for  this  action  the  whole  building  would  have  gone 
up  in  flames  before  the  visitors  had  even  arrived! 

The  town  had  many  clubs  and  benevolent  organiza- 


NEW   INSTITUTIONS  133 

tions.  The  Civic  Club  instructed  the  people  in  politics 
and  social  literature ;  a  girls'  physical  culture  club  had 
for  its  object,  of  course,  physical  training;  a  volunteer 
fire  department  did  efficient  work;  and  a  brass  band 
was  organized. 

The  village  statutes  were  so  well  kept  and  the  law 
so  much  respected  that  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  was  the 
only  officer  there,  and  he  was  usually  busy  writing 
letters  in  English  for  the  settlers,  as  he  was  seldom  if 
ever  called  upon  to  exercise  his  official  duties. 

The  sanitary  conditions  and  other  matters  relative 
to  the  physical  welfare  of  the  community  were  left  in 
control  of  the  Woodbine  Improvement  Society,  organ- 
ized for  this  very  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE   COLONY   INCORPORATES 

^TpHE  matter  of  taxation  and  of  the  control  of  the 
-■■  schools  was  the  one  nearest  to  the  hearts  of  the 
people  of  Woodbine,  and  it  was  deemed  necessary  to 
face  it  firmly.  My  husband  knew  that  Dennis  Town- 
ship was  not  treating  Woodbine  fairly  in  regard  to 
these  two  important  questions.  He  therefore  felt  that 
the  Legislature  might  be  induced  to  grant  Woodbine  a 
charter  of  incorporation  on  an  appeal  for  justice  in 
these  two  matters. 

We  wished  to  enlarge  our  schools — as  we  had  over 
three  hundred  children  at  the  time — ^but  representa- 
tives of  the  School  Board  of  Dennis  Township,  the 
section  which  would  have  to  share  the  expense  of  the 
buildings  and  upkeep  of  the  schools,  raised  an  outcry. 
They  would  not  share  the  expenses,  and  the  dark 
forces  of  Woodbine  joined  with  them.  Besides  this, 
my  husband  showed  the  Legislature  that  Woodbine  did 
not  have  an  active  voice  on  the  Board  of  Assessors, 
and  that  they  were  taxed  out  of  proportion  to  other 
places  in  the  Township.  The  legislators  were  rightly 
impressed  by  the  petition,  and  a  bill,  giving  Woodbine 
a  separate  political  identity,  was  passed  on  March  3, 

134 


2 

o 


THE    COLONY    INCORPORATES       135 

1903.  Mr.  Jacob  Schiff  wrote  to  my  husband,  con- 
gratulating Woodbine  on  its  new  right  to  self-govern- 
ment.   My  husband  replied: 

"My  dear  Mr.  Schiff: 

"I  will  report  your  encouraging  words  at  the  May 
meeting  that  the  Woodbine  people  will  hold  this  week. 
I  hope  the  responsibility  taken  by  the  people  of  Wood- 
bine will  not  be  too  heavy  for  them  and  that  they  will 
prove  themselves  worthy  of  the  trust  now  conferred 
upon  them." 

How  Woodbine  rejoiced  when,  next  morning,  the 
happy  news  reached  it,  may  be  imagined!  The  first 
Jewish  community  to  govern  itself!  Not  a  whistle 
blew  that  day  to  call  the  people  to  work.  The  schools 
were  closed.  The  town  band  and  Agricultural  School 
band  were  out  in  full  force.  What  a  hooraying  and 
tooting  and  making  of  music !  Where  did  the  young- 
sters find  all  the  horns  and  tin  trumpets? 

The  Civic  Club  hung  out  a  big  poster  announcing 
the  coming  elections  of  the  new  borough.  There  was 
no  question  in  any  mind  as  to  the  man  to  head  the  list 
of  new  officers  to  be  voted  for — who  should  be  elected 
the  first  Mayor  of  the  first  Jewish  borough!  There 
was  just  one  name — that  of  Professor  Sabsovich,  the 
father  of  the  place,  and,  without  a  dissenting  vote,  he 
was  elected.  Sixteen  citizens  for  the  six  Council- 
men  prescribed  by  law,  were  nominated.  Scarcely  a 
newspaper,  large  or  small,  throughout  the  country, 
failed  to  chronicle  the  event. 


136         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

The  real  jubilation  started  at  the  installation  of  the 
newly  chosen  officers.  An  inaugural  festival  of  the 
Borough  of  Woodbine  was  entered  into  by  a  home 
commencement  of  the  local  public  school;  music  by 
the  Woodbine  Military  band;  recitations  by  the  grad- 
uates ;  tableaux  and  addresses  by  the  late  Dr.  Blaustein 
of  New  York,  the  late  Dr.  Radin  and  the  County 
Superintendent. 

The  next  day,  Memorial  Day,  1903,  was  welcomed 
by  a  salute  to  the  flag  on  the  Agricultural  School  cam- 
pus, at  sunrise.  All  the  one  hundred  boys  of  the  Agri- 
cultural School,  in  their  uniforms,  paid  the  beautiful 
tribute  to  the  emblem  of  freedom  from  the  children 
of  foreign  lands,  who  saw  not  only  the  natural  dawn, 
but  the  dawn  of  a  new  civic  regime.  A  large  banner 
was  presented  to  my  husband — the  first  Jewish  Mayor 
of  the  first  Jewish  community — in  the  name  of  the  kin- 
dergarten. The  Girls*  Club  brought  as  their  offering 
a  wreath  of  white  roses  and  smilax  intertwined,  with 
an  emblematic  white  dove.  The  day's  festivities  were 
varied  and  interesting,  and  at  twilight  there  was  a 
pageant,  which  included  members  of  every  organiza- 
tion in  Woodbine.  This  was  a  sight  the  like  of  which 
Woodbine  never  saw  before,  and  which  would  have 
done  honor  to  any  large  city.  After  the  parade  a  ball 
was  given  by  the  fire  company.  A  banquet  was  given 
to  the  newly-elected  officers  and  their  wives  in  the 
Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  Hall,  and  thus  the  celebration 
of  the  new  borough  ended. 


THE    COLONY   INCORPORATES       137 

Professor  Sabsovich  had  reached  the  height  of  his 
career.  He  had  developed,  as  one  of  his  admirers  has 
written:  "a  community  where  good  American  citizen- 
ship and  traditional  Judaism  go  hand  in  hand.  It  was 
Professor  Sabsovich's  pride  to  point  out  to  the  world 
how  well  the  Jew  performs  his  duty  as  a  citizen,  a 
patriot  and  contributor  to  the  well-being  of  his  coun- 
try when  the  opportunity  is  afforded  him.  It  was  his 
great  joy  to  see  the  farmer  and  factory-worker,  only 
recently  the  subjects  of  oppression  and  persecution,, 
talk  freely,  with  head  erect,  of  affairs  in  their  new 
country,  state  and  county,  giving  their  time,  money 
and  energy  to  make  their  town  a  model  of  neatness  and 
cleanliness;  to  build  up  an  exemplary  public  school 
system;  to  care  for  the  poor  and  needy;  and  provide 
for  the  moral  and  physical  training  of  the  young  gen- 
eration." 

With  movements  for  the  public  good  he  was  actively 
concerned  throughout  all  his  later  years.  In  this 
spirit  he  writes  to  Rev.  Dr.  Krauskopf,  Philadelphia: 

"I  have  read  in  today's  Public  Ledger,  the  article 
'American  Citizenship  in  Russia,  the  Right  Denied,' 
containing  your  appeal  to  the  Winfield  Scott  Post,  G. 
A.  R.  I  am  deeply  touched  by  your  determination  to 
test  the  rights  of  an  American  citizen  to  brave  travel 
or  to  reside  in  Russia,  where  I  know  this  right  will  be 
denied  to  you.  The  treaty  of  1832  between  Russia  and 
the  United  States  gives  the  right  to  American  citizens 
to  sojourn  and  reside  and  secures  protection,  on  condi- 
tion that  they  submit  to  the  laws  and  ordinances  pre- 


138         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

vailing  there.  You  know  the  laws  and  ordinances  in 
Russia  in  regard  to  the  Jews.  How  can  you  expect  'lib- 
erty to  sojourn  and  reside'  and  protection  if  the  natives 
are  denied  these  privileges?  From  the  standpoint  of  in- 
ternational law  the  Russian  government  has  the  right  to 
trample  upon  your  American  citizenship,  and  our  gov- 
ernment has  to  permit  itself  to  be  snubbed.  It  is  only 
a  logical  sequence  of  the  alliance  between  the  Goddess 
of  Liberty  and  the  Demon  of  Tyranny.  Did  France 
fare  better  than  the  United  States  from  her  shameful 
and  unholy  union  with  Russia?  Had  she  not  to  stand 
a  snubbing,  and  very  soon  after  she  degraded  herself 
and  lowered  the  dignity  of  a  republic.  What  other 
treatment  could  you  expect  from  a  government  repre- 
senting the  secret  form  of  autocracy  toward  the  highest 
form  of  democratic  government  on  God's  earth?  Are 
these  two  governments  naturally  not  antagonistic  to 
each  other  ?  Let  the  alliance  between  the  United  States 
and  Russia  cease  and  the  torch  of  Liberty  be  lighted 
as  it  was  under  the  forefathers  and  founders  of  this 
great  democracy !  Let  all  treaties  with  Russia  be  abro- 
gated, and  the  true  dignity  of  this  country  restored! 
Let  all  true  American  citizens  unite  in  the  demand  to 
abrogate  the  last  extradition  treaty  with  Russia !  You 
will  do  much  more  for  the  cause  of  your  brethren  in 
Russia  by  championing  the  abrogation  movement  than 
by  sacrificing  your  comforts  and  entering  Russia,  or 
trying  to  enter,  in  spite  of  the  desire  of  her  govern- 
ment. If  countries  like  the  United  States,  England 
and  France  would  call  back  their  representatives,  they 
would  soon  have  treaties  signed  which  would  secure 
protection  to  the  citizens  of  the  respective  countries 
as  they  have  in  Japan  and  China." 


THE    COLONY   INCORPORATES       139 

At  the  sixth  convention  of  the  National  Conference 
of  Jewish  charities,  held  in  May,  1910,  he  spoke  on  the 
subject  nearest  his  heart.  Discussing  a  paper  written 
by  Mr.  Chester  Teller  on  "Special  Education  of  Jewish 
Dependent  Children,"  he  said: 

"I  am  requested  to  discuss  the  excellent  paper  of 
Mr.  Teller,  but  I  would  rather  say  something  about 
what  is  to  be  done  with  girls  and  boys  between  the 
ages  of  fourteen  and  sixteen,  not  only  those  depend- 
ent on  charity,  but  those  who  are  taken  care  of  by 
their  parents  as  well. 

"Children  of  these  ages  are  too  young  to  enter  the 
skilled  professions.  The  boys  usually  take  unskilled 
positions  in  offices,  stores,  factories  and  shops,  and 
when  they  reach  the  earning  wage  of  sixteen  and 
eighteen,  they  have  small  chance  of  advancing  them- 
selves, and  having  no  trade,  they  drift  from  one  em- 
ployment to  another.  If  they  fail  .to  improve,  during 
this  time,  the  knowledge  they  have  acquired  in  the 
public  schools,  they  often  forget  the  little  they  have 
learned.  This  question  as  to  what  to  do  with  boys  and 
girls  of  fourteen  to  sixteen  has  become  in  New  York, 
as  elsewhere,  a  question  of  vast  importance.  The  City 
and  State  of  New  York  are  therefore  .taking  steps 
toward  solving  the  problem  by  introducing  vocational 
schools.  Such  a  school  for  boys  opened  last  Septem- 
ber for  those  who  have  gone  to  the  sixth  grade  or  its 
equivalent,  and  they  receive  not  only  academic  train- 
ing, but  professional  training  as  well.  A  considerable 
part  of  their  time  is  spent  in  the  shops  where  printing, 
carpentry,  plumbing,  electrical  wiring  and  blacksmith- 
ing  are  taught.    Even  if  this  and  similar  schools  should 


140        ADVENTURES    IN   IDEALISM 

only  develop  some  mechanical  attitude  in  the  pupils 
and  reduce  the  number  of  drifters,  their  existence 
would  be  justified.  The  length  of  the  course  is  from 
one  to  three  years.  The  Hebrew  Technical  School 
for  boys  and  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Trade  School  fill 
partly  the  demand  for  trade  and  technical  education 
for  Jewish  boys  and  young  men.  The  Clara  de  Hirsch 
Home  for  working  girls  and  the  Hebrew  Technical 
School  for  girls  give  industrial  training  to  girls.  The 
Manhattan  Trade  School  for  girls  was  taken  over  by 
the  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

"By  introducing  industrial  training  as  an  educational 
feature  in  the  orphan  asylums  we  should  help  the  move- 
ment toward  trade  education  and  send  out  boys  and 
girls  with  distinctly  developed  mechanical  inclinations 
and  better  prepared  to  take  up  trade  as  a  life  vocation. 

"As  concerns  farming,  the  general  impression  is  that 
it  is  no  use  training  our  children  to  take  up  farming, 
as  farming  is  not  a  Jewish  occupation  and  that  at- 
tempts to  make  farmers  out  of  Jews  have  universally 
proven  failures.  We  have  heard  a  young  minister 
speak  on  the  great  possibilities  of  farming  in  general 
in  this  country,  and  he  proposes,  by  establishing  test 
farms,  to  make  American  farmers  out  of  Jewish  im- 
migrants. At  the  same  time  he  condemned  all  the 
previous  efforts  at  colonizing,  particularly  those  in 
the  South  and  West.  A  gentleman  from  Memphis, 
also  a  minister,  I  believe,  tells  us  of  the  failure  of 
colonization  in  Texas.  He  did  not  tell  us,  however, 
that  the  immigrants  were  sent  to  a  fever-stricken  dis- 
trict. The  fact  is,  however,  that  throughout  the  United 
States  there  are  thousands  of  prosperous  Jewish  farm- 
ers. Within  twelve  miles  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  for 
instance,  there  is  a  settlement  of  from  twenty-five  to 


THE   COLONY   INCORPORATES       141 

thirty  prosperous  Jewish  farmers,  who  are  not  only 
Jews,  but  good  Americans  as  well.  Their  houses  are 
equipped  with  telephone  service;  some  have  modern 
heating  appliances,  sewerage,  and  above  all — they  have 
modern  methods  of  farming.  They  are  among  the 
best  tobacco  raisers  in  the  country. 

"There  are  also  several  colonies  on  the  southern  part 
of  New  Jersey.  It  is  true  that  the  experiences  of  these 
pioneers  have  been  of  the  hardest  kind,  but  they  have 
succeeded  in  overcoming  their  difficulties  and  are  now 
not  only  very  prosperous,  but  are  known  as  the  raisers 
of  the  finest  sweet-potatoes  in  the  country.  They 
raise  the  famous  *Vineland  Sweets.' 

"Although  I  have  had  many  bitter  disappointments 
in^my  life's  work,  I  am  nevertheless  more  optimistic 
than  ever  as  to  the  future  of  Jewish  farming.  With 
the  encouragement  that  the  Jews  now  have  to  own  and 
work  their  own  lands,  farming  is  steadily  getting  a  per- 
manent foothold  among  Jews.  In  fact,  it  has  long 
passed  the  experimental  stage,  and  1  hope  to  see  its 
following  grow  steadily  broader  and  vaster  in  num- 
bers; and  the  orphan  asylums  would  do  well  to  intro- 
duce horticulture  and  agriculture  into  their  educational 
programs,  as  there  is  no  doubt  that  many  of  the  wards 
would  develop  an  inclination  to  take  up  farming  as  a 
vocation,  and  thus  many  would  be  afforded  a  healthy 
opportunity  to  grow  outside  of  their  congested  and 
overcrowded  city  employment." 


CHAPTER   XIX 


RECOLLECTIONS 


^TpHE  fulfilment  of  his  life  my  husband  had  found 
-*-  in  the  success  of  the  Woodbine  Colony.  He 
turned  now  to  his  personal  affairs  and  those  of  his 
family,  particularly  the  future  of  our  children.  We 
planned  that  in  1905  our  three  daughters  were  to 
begin  attendirfg  high  school  and  college  in  New  York. 
It  was,  therefore,  necessary  to  arrange  our  lives  so 
that  we  could  be  with  them. 

A  year  previously  Mr.  Solomons,  the  general  agent 
for  the  Fund  had  resigned,  and  the  Committee  engaged 
someone  to  act  temporarily,  meanwhile  looking  for  a 
man  to  take  up  the  work  permanently.  My  husband 
applied  for  this  position  in  July,  1905,  and  was  prompt- 
ly accepted.  A  month  later  we  moved  to  New  York 
City. 

It  was  responsible  work,  but  without  the  worries  he 
constantly  met  with  in  Woodbine.  This  was  a  great 
relief,  for,  though  his  appearance  was  that  of  a  strong, 
robust  man,  he  was  really  of  an  intensely  nervous  tem- 
perament and  serious  illnesses  had  left  his  heart  very 
weak.  He  was  in  touch  with  Woodbine  and  its  affairs, 
however,  until  the  very  end.     Even  at  a  distance  he 

142 


RECOLLECTIONS  143 

could  not  be  happy  without  taking  an  active  part  in 
the  affairs  of  the  community. 

With  movements  for  the  public  good  in  New  York 
he  was  also  concerned,  and  when  a  hospital  in  the 
Bronx  was  proposed,  he  stepped  in  and  worked  zeal- 
ously toward  making  it  a  success.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  treasurer  of  its  funds. 
When  the  dispensary  of  the  hospital  was  opened,  as 
one  of  its  visiting  directors  he  never  missed  a  Saturday 
morning  there,  to  assist  in  one  or  another  capacity. 

But  all  his  activities  were  interrupted  when,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1914,  he  fell  seriously  ill.  The  best  specialists 
in  the  city  were  called  and  pronounced  his  case  hope- 
less; but  the  wonderful  care  that  two  physicians.  Dr. 
William  Klein  and  Dr.  Paul  Kaplan,  family  friends, 
gave  him  day  and  night,  helped  him  to  recover.  After 
two  months  he  was  able  to  leave  his  bed  and  go  to  the 
country  to  recuperate.  We  remained  there  from  April 
to  June,  when  he  decided  that  he  must  return  to  work. 
We  took  a  bungalow  for  the  summer  at  the  seashore, 
and  four  days  a  week  he  went  back  and  forth  to  his 
work,  regardless  of  the  weather.  Upon  our  return  to 
New  York  we  moved  to  a  lower  section  of  the  city,  so 
that  he  might  avoid  traveling  by  subway.  Here  he 
worked  for  another  year,  with  his  health  terribly  im- 
paired, and  on  February  28,  1915,  he  fell  ill,  never  to 
be  up  again. 

After  his  death,  his  nurse,  an  elderly  woman,  told 
me  that  she  had  been  at  the  bedside  of  many  prom- 


144         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

inent  men  during  her  long  years  of  nursing,  but  never 
had  she  taken  care  of  one  who,  even  in  delirium, — 
which  endured  for  five  days — ^would  speak  of  men  with 
such  kindliness  and  reveal  ideals  so  high. 

Gentle  in  all  his  ways,  with  a  heart  so  great,  nature  ' 
so  sweet,  and  a  spirit  so  lofty,  he  lies  now  at  rest! 
May  his  soul  know  the  peace  that  in  life  he  always 
strove  for  so  eagerly! 


All  the  circumstances  relative  to  my  husband's  ac- 
tive life  were  apparent  to  the  world  at  large.  Every- 
one who  came  into  contact  with  him  recognized  his 
admirable  qualities.  I  have  often  seen  the  practical 
idealism  that  made  his  success  possible  illustrated  in 
his  relations  with  our  children. 

Two  of  our  girls — ^Nellie  and  Vera,  once  ran  breath- 
less into  the  house,  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  voices 
quivering  with  S)mipathy.  "Father,"  they  exclaimed, 
"we  have  just  seen  a  pitiful  sight;  there  is  a  poor  crip- 
pled man  walking  along  the  railway  track;  he  looks 
starved,  he  is  ragged  and  is  begging  for  some  money 
to  enable  him  to  pay  his  fare  to  Philadelphia.  We 
ought  to  help  him."  "Of  course,"  said  my  husband, 
"you  should.  You  have  your  little  banks,  why  not 
give  the  poor  man  the  money?"  Both  girls  quickly 
emptied  their  long-time  savings  and  were  off. 

From  the  babyhood  of  Marie  on  the  estate  at  Yiesk, 
in  Russia,  she  was  a  companion  of  her  father.    It  was 


RECOLLECTIONS  145 

a  quaint  sight  to  see  her  toddHng  after  him,  wherever 
he  could  possibly  permit  it,  about  the  fields  and  or- 
chards. A  born  teacher,  he  answered  all  her  ques- 
tions with  care  and  consideration,  feeding  her  mind 
with  what  it  could  assimilate,  and  incidentally  instruct- 
ing her  about  the  facts  of  life,  as  well  as  about  the 
creatures,  the  soil  and  the  growing  plant  Hfe. 

A  story  of  that  period  will  show  what  a  small  ex- 
pert the  child  became,  and  how  expedient  her  knowl- 
edge could  prove.  The  two  had  gone  for  a  long 
walk,  which,  as  usual,  ended  with  Marie,  tired  but  tri- 
umphant, on  her  father's  shoulders.  When  he  turned 
to  go  back,  however,  my  husband,  thinking  to  take  a 
short  cut  lost  his  way  through  the  woods  and  in  the 
similarity  of  the  flat  fields.  His  confidence  failed 
him,  but  he  felt  that  if  he  could  only  strike  the  borders 
of  the  estate  he  could  find  his  way.  Emerging  from 
a  clearing  in  the  forest,  they  came  upon  another  seem- 
ingly endless  field  of  grain.  He  set  the  child  down  for 
a  moment  and  gazed  around.  Marie  put  an  end  to  his 
perplexity: 

"Father,"  she  said,  embracing  the  tall  stalks.  "Our 
wheat!" 

He  was  surprised  and  incredulous. 

"Our  wheat!"  she  insisted. 

And  so  it  was.  .  .  . 

When,  from  Fort  Collins,  he  went  to  New  York 
City  at  the  invitation  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Ftmd 
Committee,  she  went  with  him. 


146         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

Two  or  three  years  later,  when,  after  the  breach 
with  the  farmers  at  Woodbine,  he  fell  sick  and  was 
ordered  south  to  recover,  Marie  accompanied  him  as 
his  nurse.  Though  a  mere  youngster  of  eight,  she 
could  be  fully  trusted  to  take  exquisite  care  of  him. 
In  fact,  he  demurred  a  little  against  her  exacting  cau- 
tion and  the  amount  of  thought  which  she  gave  to 
his  health  and  comfort.  He  felt  that  "fussing  over 
him,"  as  he  called  it,  was  not  the  important  matter  it 
was  made. 

Again,  when  he  was  staying  in  the  Catskill  Moun- 
tains after  his  attack  of  pneumonia, — under  her  charge, 
of  course, — he  attempted  to  neglect  her  orders.  But 
it  was  of  no  avail.  Distressed  to  see  him  set  out  on 
a  muddy  mountain  walk  unprotected  by  overshoes, 
Marie  caught  them  up  and  ran  after  him. 

"Put  them  on,"  she  insisted,  "the  doctor  told  me  that 
you  mustn't  get  your  feet  wet." 

Metaphorically  speaking,  he  threw  up  his  hands. 

"My  dear,"  he  sighed,  "I'm  glad  that  you  love  me, 
but  why  be  such  a  tyrant?" 

Inseparable  as  they  were,  however,  he  would  never 
permit  her  fervent  devotion  to  concentrate  on  him  or 
on  our  family  alone.  With  a  deep  and  selfless  wis- 
dom he  kept  turning  her  mind  outward,  directing  her 
budding  thoughts  and  activities  toward  the  service  of 
the  community  and  the  broad  human  interests  in 
which  he  himself  was  absorbed. 

One  winter  evening  in  Woodbine  I  shall  never  for- 


RECOLLECTIONS  147 

get.  My  husband  had  been  called  away  to  New  York, 
but  had  promised  to  return  on  a  certain  day,  and  to 
bring  with  him  some  lovely  mechanical  dolls  for  the 
three  children.  We  were  expecting  him  and  the  little 
girls,  especially,  were  looking  forward  to  his  coming 
with  eagerness.  But  when  a  heavy  snowstorm  set  in, 
with  a  driving  wind,  I  hoped  he  would  not  try  to  re- 
turn. The  time  for  the  last  express  came  and  passed, 
and  even  the  children  decided  that  it  was  better  for 
Papa  not  to  travel  on  such  a  night.  Just  as,  however, 
in  spite  of  their  disappoinment,  they  had  bravely  re- 
signed themselves  to  retiring,  into  the  room  he  burst, 
his  arms  full  of  bundles  and  covered  with  snow.  The 
gaiety  and  excitement  which  followed  may  be  imagined. 

*T  couldn't  wait  to  see  the  children's  faces  when  they 
saw  the  dolls,"  he  explained,  as  a  plea  to  me.  "I 
missed  the  express,  but  I  took  the  local  to  the  Junction 
(two  miles  away)  and,"  he  finished,  apologetically,  "I 
had  to  walk  the  rest  of  the  way." 

And  though  it  was  by  imprudent  impulses  like  these 
that  he  was  wearing  himself  out,  I  could  not  chide 
him. 

Full  of  joyous  excitement.  Vera,  our  second  daugh- 
ter, a  little  later  exclaimed: 

"Papa!  is  there  a  happier  family  than  ours,  any- 
where?" 

Truly  It  seemed  that  there  could  not  be,  and 
to  me  no  small  part  of  this  man's  greatness  of  spirit 


148         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

is  reflected  in  the  simple  fact  that  no  turmoil  of  public 
duties  was  ever  so  great  as  to  submerge  his  devotion  to 
his  own  or  dull  his  constant  effort  to  make  us  com- 
pletely happy. 


CHAPTER  XX 

IN  THE  HEARTS  OF  HIS  PEOPLE 

T  VISITED,  last  summer,  and  for  the  first  time  in 
several  years,  the  place  of  my  husband's  rest  at 
Woodbine.  In  the  village  I  had  helped  him  to  found, 
where  I  had  shared  every  tribulation  and  triumph  of 
his,  I  found  the  memory  of  him  still  green  and  held 
in  fragrant  recollection.  Many  a  story  I  heard  for  the 
first  time  of  his  friendliness  to  young  and  old. 

Mrs.  N related  how,  when  a  child  of  nine,  she 

used  to  pasture  her  cow  along  the  railroad  tracks; 
once  the  cow  broke  loose,  and  trespassed  in  our  flower 
garden.  The  gardener,  enraged  when  he  saw  the  cow 
in  his  domain,  trampling  down  his  floral  treasures, 
ran  after  her  and  caught  her.  Meanwhile  the  young- 
ster flew  breathlessly  after  her  charge;  but  when  she 
asked  him  to  turn  the  cow  over  to  her,  he  said,  harshly: 

"Oh,  no.  I'll  arrest  both  you  and  the  cow.  Vm 
going  to  bring  you  into  the  Professor's  office." 

The  little  girl  was  terrified  as  the  gardener  brought 
her,  with  big  tears  streaming  down  her  face,  before 
my  husband.  After  listening  to  the  tale  of  the  trans- 
gression, he  turned  to  the  gardener: 

"You  have  scared  that  little  child  out  of  her  wits. 
Do  you  think  that  all  the  flowers  in  Woodbine  are 

149 


150        ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

worth  her  tears?"  And,  telling  her  gently  to  be  care- 
ful next  time,  he  sent  her  away. 

A  citizen,  the  father  of  several  children  to-day,  told 
me  that  when  a  student  at  the  Agricultural  School, 
he  was  walking  one  moonlight  night  with  two  young 
ladies,  and,  happening  to  pass  the  greenhouse — ^where 
he  had  planted  the  flowers  himself — the  girls  expressed 
a  wish  for  some,  when  he  gathered  a  bouquet  and  gave 
it  to  them.  But  the  vigilant  gardener  was  on  the  watch, 
and  he  ran  after  the  party  and  made  a  scene,  and 
brought  the  boy  to  the  office. 

After  hearing  the  complaint,  my  husband  asked  the 
gardener  whether  he  had  ever  been  young  and  walked 
with  a  pretty  girl  in  the  moonlight  ?  If  he  had,  what 
would  he  have  done? — ^and  dismissed  the  youthful 
transgressor  at  once. 

Mrs.  E.  W told  me  that  when  a  school-girl  of 

twelve,  the  road  over  which  the  children  had  daily  to 
travel  to  school  was  in  very  bad  condition.  It  was 
almost  impassable  for  their  bicycles,  on  which  they  had 
not  only  to  transport  themselves  but  their  lunch-boxes 
and  books.  A  group  of  boys  and  girls,  none  of  them 
over  twelve,  decided  to  petition  the  only  person  they 
knew  they  could  reach.  They  came  to  my  husband  and 
explained  their  difficulties  in  a  most  businesslike  man- 
ner. He  gravely  listened  to  their  tale,  and  turning  to 
his  stenographer,  dictated  the  following  petition,  in 
due  form: 

"We,  the  undersigned,  wish  to  put  before  Dennis- 


IN    THE    HEARTS    OF    HIS    PEOPLE     151 

ville  Township  our  plea  to  have  the  road  to  our  school 
— which  is  one  mile  long — ^put  into  a  condition  which 
will  enable  us  to  ride  our  wheels  over  it  without 
danger." 

He  then  required  each  child  to  sign,  and  sent  the 
plea  to  the  proper  authorities,  and  during  the  spring 
and  summer  the  road  was  repaired,  with  others.  When 
school  started  in  the  fall,  the  children  came  once  more 
in  a  body  to  their  friend,  and  thanked  him  for  the 
part  he  had  taken  in  obtaining  the  improved  roads. 
Again  he  caused  them  to  sign  a  letter,  this  time  of 
thanks,  and  sent  it  to  the  town  officials  who  had  caused 
the  roads  to  be  repaired. 

A  woman  who  began  her  career  as  the  first  kinder- 
garten teacher  in  Woodbine,  told  me  that  her  whole 
attitude  towards  life  had  been  moulded  by  Professor 
Sabsovich. 

"How  we  did  worship  that  man !"  she  said.  "Any- 
thing we  had  done  that  in  any  way  displeased  him  was 
a  horrible  mortification  to  us.  All  he  need  to  have 
done  was  to  command,  and  we  would  have  obeyed; 
but  that  was  not  his  way.  He  merely  guided,  and  we 
followed,  feeling  safe  and  happy  in  doing  so. 

"There  was  little  we  could  do  to  express  to  the  Pro- 
fessor our  esteem  and  reverence  and  the  gratitude  we 
felt  towards  him.  On  his  birthday  we  usually  man- 
aged to  arrange  something  that  would  please  him. 
One  birthday,  in  particular,  stands  out  in  my  mind. 


152         ADVENTURES    IN    IDEALISM 

"The  boys  of  the  Agricultural  School  had  arranged 
a  little  dance,  to  which  only  his  devoted  friends  were 
invited.  Just  before  the  day  came  around,  it  snowed 
for  three  days.  Then  a  thaw  set  in,  followed  by  a 
heavy  rain.  It  was  an  awful  night.  The  slush  was  so 
deep  that  it  was  hardly  possible  to  pass  through  it 
even  in  boots.  We  girls  were  on  needles  and  pins 
with  suspense.  We  did  not  dare  to  venture  out,  and 
stood,  ready  dressed,  wondering  how  we  should  ever 
reach  the  school,  which  was  at  some  distance  from 
the  town  proper.  The  boys  had  worried,  too,  but  they 
worried  to  some  purpose!  They  all  managed  to  get 
high  boots,  and  came  around  to  our  houses,  and  carried 
most  of  the  girls  over  to  the  school !  We  were  all  there, 
a  sight  to  behold! 

"Owing  to  the  dreadful  storm  Professor  did  not 
expect  any  celebration.  When  he  entered  the  hall  and 
saw  the  decorations  and  all  of  us  assembled  as  though 
nothing  had  gone  wrong  with  the  elements,  he  was 
astounded.  His  first  impulse  was  to  scold  us  girls 
for  daring  to  venture  out  on  such  a  night.  But  soon 
his  face  beamed  with  pride  and  gratitude  at  the  thought 
of  such  devotion,  and  the  next  moment  he  was  happy 
and  gay. 

"The  big  constructive  work  accomplished  by  the 
Professor  we  fully  realized  in  later  life.  Neverthe- 
less, the  real  love  and  devotion  with  which  we  always 
regarded  him  were  founded  on  a  great  many  of  just 


IN    THE    HEARTS    OF    HIS    PEOPLE     153 

such  instances,  which  showed  the  sincere  and  loving 
spirit  which  Hghted  his  every  action. 

''Later  in  Hfe,  when  we  were  scattered  in  every  part 
of  this  big  country,  we  always  had  with  us  the  tender 
memories  of  the  happy  Woodbine  days. 

"Then  and  now,  that  occasion  which  brings  any  of 
us  together  is  always  hallowed  by  the  beautiful  spirit 
of  our  beloved  teacher  and  friend,  and  every  one  of 
us  feels  himself  or  herself  a  better  man  or  woman 
because  we  were  privileged  to  know  him." 

As  I  traveled  back  to  New  York,  I  thought  how 
very  few  men  or  women  have  so  truly  a  memorial 
chamber  in  the  hearts  of  so  many  people.  The  words 
of  George  Herbert  then  arose  in  my  mind,  as  most 
fitting  and  descriptive  of  the  ceaseless  unselfish  activi- 
ties of  him  who  we  all,  with  one  accord,  mourned: 

"Only  the  actions  of  the  just 
Smell  sweet  and  blossom  in  the  dust." 


FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW 
HIM  BEST 


From  Those  Who  Knew  Him  Best 
THE  PRACTICAL  IDEALIST 

BY  BORIS  D.  BOGEN 

The  immigration  wave  from  Russia  in  the  eighties 
included  a  more  or  less  compact  group  of  young  idealists 
who  came  not  to  make  a  comfortable  nest  for  themselves 
or  to  achieve  higher  standing  in  their  careers,  but  who 
dreamt  of  a  better  world  to  live  in  and  dwelt  within  a 
Utopia  of  their  own  imagining.  As  a  rule,  they  were 
wedded  to  some  well-defined  theory,  and  followed  the 
latter  with  the  fervor  of  fanaticism.  In  the  course  of 
their  early  experiences  in  America  they  encountered  many 
a  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of  the  realization  of  their 
dreams  and  were,  as  time  went  on,  shifted  to  other  and 
more  prosaic  pursuits. 

There  were  only  a  few  who  remained  bound  to  their 
ideals  and  although  the  workaday  world  found  them 
thrown  upon  their  own  resources,  they  gathered  together 
on  the  mutual  ground  of  idealism.  Their  gathering  place 
would  be  one  of  the  tea  houses  on  the  East  Side,  where 
the  bearers  of  "welt  schmertz"  nightly  wended  their  way, 
discussed  over  and  over  again  their  complex  problems, 
quarrelled  over  purpose,  solution  and  method,  and  talked 
and  talked  and  talked.  Among  these  young  dreamers 
were  men  of  high  intellect  and  strength  of  reasoning 
power.    One  bore  a  different  expression  from  his  fellows 

167 


158    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

— a  purposeful,  steady  and  firm  resolve.  He  was  not 
living  in  New  York,  but  he  frequently  visited  the  city 
and  then  he  too  would  join  the  "Russian  Colony/' 

At  the  tea  house  he  was  one  of  them  and  his  visits 
were  hailed  as  an  event.  He  was  welcomed  royally.  He 
would  listen  to  the  endless  discussions  and  inquire  into 
the  details  of  the  various  local  developments.  But  he 
never  failed  to  impress  upon  his  subject-matter  his  own 
personality.  Idealist  as  he  was,  he  did  not  detach  him- 
self from  the  world  of  practical  things.  He  too  had  an 
idea  of  an  universal  and  all  inclusive  social  order,  but 
he  did  not  insist  upon  the  necessity  of  applying  this 
world  program  within  a  limited  sphere.  All  the  world 
was  his,  so  far  as  his  sympathies  were  concerned,  but 
what  interested  him  was  the  actual  contribution  that  he 
and  his  fellows  could  make. 

To  these  fellows  of  his  he  turned  with  his  appraisal. 
What  can  you  expect  of  people  who  fritter  their  lives 
away  in  useless  discussion?  You  neglect  your  bodies — 
what  use  can  you  be  to  the  world  if  you  cannot  look  after 
yourselves  ?  Why  do  you  stay  in  the  city  ?  What  future 
does  this  cafe  hold  in  store  for  you?  Bent  on  destroying 
the  lure  of  the  city,  he  never  tired  in  picturing  the  beau- 
ties and  glories  of  the  country.  He  loved  nature;  the 
city,  he  felt,  was  not  the  place  for  mankind  to  grow. 

He  suffered  in  his  realization  that  the  life  of  his  com- 
rades was  based  upon  a  wrong  tendency — a  tendency  that 
seemed  to  grip  all  about  him.  He  knew  that  so  long  as 
they  clung  to  the  city,  there  could  be  no  hope  for  his 
people.  For  it  was  the  fate  of  the  Jews  that  lay  nearest 
his  heart.  In  America  he  saw  a  wonderful  opportunity 
for  Israel  to  start  life  anew.  But  this  could  not  be 
brought  about  by  a  passive  attitude  on  the  part  of  the 
leaders  among  the  Jews ;  it  was  they  who  must  blaze  the 


THE    PRACTICAL   IDEALIST  159 

path.  The  problem  was  not  one  for  theorizing— the 
active  energies  of  many  leaders  would  be  needed — to 
bring  the  Jew  into  the  country  where  he  might  find 
himself. 

He  did  not  limit  his  propaganda  to  his  intimate  circle 
of  friends — he  tried  to  exemplify  his  program  within 
himself.  For  years  before  coming  to  America  he  had 
devoted  himself  to  preparation  for  his  life's  work.  He 
came  to  the  New  World  a  full  fledged  trained  agricul- 
turist, ready  and  eager  for  the  task  he  had  set  for  himself. 

The  idea  of  settling  the  newcomers  on  the  soil  was 
in  vogue  in  those  days.  The  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund 
had  undertaken  to  finance  various  activities  with  this 
end  in  view.  And  for  the  leader  in  this  gigantic  task  they 
selected  this  dreamer,  who  came  to  the  barren  stretches 
of  Woodbine  and  claimed  it  for  his  promised  land. 

Thus  it  was  that  Professor  Sabsovich  entered  upon 
his  life  work.  The  location  for  the  experiment  had, 
unfortunately,  been  selected  before  his  appointment.  But, 
in  the  face  of  numerous  and  tantalizing  difficulties,  he 
plunged  into  his  task. 

First  it  was  merely  a  question  of  placing  a  limited  num- 
ber of  independent  farmers  in  that  region,  thus  forming 
the  nucleus  of  a  Jewish  agricultural  colony.  But  as  the 
work  grew  new  problems  presented  themselves,  each  lead- 
ing up  to  another  and  forcing  a  constant  expansion  in  the 
activities.  How  could  the  products  be  marketed?  How 
could  the  lure  of  the  city  be  counteracted?  Questions 
such  as  these  never  ceased  to  present  new  opportunities 
for  service. 

The  man  in  charge  soon  became  the  soul  of  the  entire 
movement.  He  saw  the  problem  as  something  more  than 
a  farm-letting  venture.  He  lived  in  the  village.  He 
fought  stubborn  opposition.     He  stimulated  the  people 


160    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

who  controlled  the  funds  to  see  greater  visions  of  what 
they  might  do.  He  aroused  the  interest  and  enthusiasm 
of  the  people  for  whom  he  worked.  Leaping  beyond 
the  boundaries  of  his  set  program,  he  devised  new  plans 
and,  throwing  the  whole  force  of  his  being  into  the 
struggle,  brought  about  great  pieces  of  social  construc- 
tion almost  single-handed. 

The  first  year  of  the  twentieth  century  saw  Woodbine 
as  a  neat  little  town  sheltering  over  a  thousand  souls, 
boasting  of  the  best  schools  in  the  county,  streets,  water 
works,  electric  power,  a  synagogue,  stores  and  four  or 
five  factories.     But  this  was  not  all. 

A  special  Agricultural  School,  started  with  practically 
nothing,  was  now  a  reality.  In  the  beginning  it  had  been 
a  simple  step.  Just  a  few  farmers'  sons,  receiving  instruc- 
tion from  the  father  of  the  enterprise,  spent  thrilling 
evening  hours  and  the  precious  free  hours  of  the  day 
with  him.  The  instruction  returned  them  to  the  farm, 
skilled  and  equipped.  The  inspiration  led  them  on, 
through  college  and  into  the  world  of  success.  So  the 
idea  of  the  school  took  root  and  started  to  grow.  Modest 
surely — just  for  the  children  of  the  farmers — only  a  small 
investment.  But  before  a  year  or  two  had  passed  the 
school  had  taken  its  place  as  a  new  center  of  educational 
experimentation.  Buildings  came  up.  A  faculty  was  es- 
tablished. The  Paris  Exposition  awarded  the  Woodbine 
Agricultural  School  the  Grand  Prix  in  1900,  and  in  1902 
this  triumph  was  crowned  by  the  Gold  Medal  at  the 
Buffalo  Exposition. 

So  Professor  Sabsovich  toiled  on  and  dreamt  on.  Jew- 
ish farmers  were  settled  on  the  lands  and  encouraged  to 
go  on.  Industries  were  attracted  to  the  village,  so  that 
they  might  draw  the  Ghetto  dwellers  from  the  city  streets. 
The  school,  typifying  the  new  ideal  for  Jewry,  stood  as 


THE    PRACTICAL    IDEALIST  161 

a  beacon,  lighting  the  way.  But  Sabsovich  did  not  stop 
here. 

He  developed  a  plan  by  which  the  real  merit  of  the 
Jew  as  a  citizen  might  be  demonstrated.  It  was  just  at 
this  time  that  public  opinion  was  stirred  against  the  im- 
migrant by  accusations  that  he  was  degrading  American 
politics.  The  corruption  brought  about  by  political  rings 
was  blamed  upon  the  Jewish  newcomer.  It  is  not  true, 
Professor  Sabsovich  claimed,  that  the  Jew  betrays  his 
privileges.  Whatever  weakness  he  may  show  is  due  to 
his  surroundings,  to  influences  working  in  spite  of  him 
and  against  him.  Give  him  a  chance  to  participate  in  his 
government ;  explain  to  him,  in  terms  that  he  can  under- 
stand, his  high  privileges  and  responsibilities.  Then  will 
the  Jew  serve  as  a  model  of  good  citizenship.  Here  again 
a  practical  demonstration  was  needed  to  prove  the  claim. 

At  once  he  gave  himself  to  this  new  idea.  A  separate 
borough  charter  was  obtained  for  Woodbine;  it  became 
a  political  unit  conducted  solely  by  Jews.  It  showed 
splendid  signs  of  wholesome  communal  development. 
Citizenship  was  no  more  a  perfunctory  obligation.  It 
became  rooted  in  the  very  lives  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  little  village.  A  city  hall  was  established;  a  civic 
club  sprang  into  being  and  flourished;  a  modern  health 
movement  was  launched ;  a  systematic  educational  regime 
was  established.  The  school  system  in  Woodbine  today 
is  still  the  best  in  the  County. 

So  Woodbine  grew.  Here  the  Jews,  left  to  themselves, 
developed  a  sound  social  body,  busying  themselves  with 
agriculture,  industry  and  trade.  Here,  close  to  nature, 
their  children  flourished  safe  from  the  negative  forces 
of  the  city  streets.  Here  every  home  was  a  temple  and 
the  temple  was  the  heart  of  the  community. 

Twenty-five  years  of  pioneer  work  bore  fruit.     The 


162    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

soil,  once  barren  of  everything  but  scrub  bushes  and  white 
sand,  had  been  transferred  into  a  beautiful  town  with 
hundreds  of  homes,  the  thriving  bustling  activities  of  a 
tiny  city  and,  on  the  outskirts  the  busy  farms,  the  begin- 
ning and  the  sole  idea  upon  which  the  entire  enterprise 
was  started. 

But  these  physical  things  cannot  tell  the  story  of 
Professor  Sabsovich's  entire  achievements.  His  greatest 
contribution,  perhaps,  was  his  influence  as  a  leader  in 
the  lives  of  the  people.  Hundreds,  nay  thousands,  of 
young  men  were  inspired  by  him  to  follow  higher  ideals, 
to  prepare  themselves  for  service,  to  consecrate  them- 
selves to  a  cause.  Entire  families  and  their  children's 
children,  learned  through  him  to  love  nature  and  the 
country  life. 

Later  he  assumed  the  duties  of  General  Manager  of 
the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  in  New  York  where,  devoting 
all  that  was  in  him  to  the  development  of  the  Fund 
activities,  he  found  time  and  opportunity  to  extend  his 
influence  into  the  various  fields  of  Jewish  social  service, 
in  the  days  when  this  service  was  just  beginning  to 
develop  into  a  definite  professional  field. 

When  Professor  H.  L.  Sabsovich  died,  he  left  to  all 
Jewry  a  legacy  that  grows  greater  with  each  passing  year. 
To  the  Jewish  social  workers  his  life  holds  a  meaning 
especially  dear.  His  devotion  to  the  cause,  his  persistence 
and  faith  in  the  possibility  of  getting  things  done,  in  spite 
of  opposition  and  indifference,  his  courage  to  experiment 
on  propositions  that  were  likely  to  prove  failures  and, 
above  all,  his  absolute  identity  with  the  work  he  did, 
lights  the  pathway  of  the  social  worker  as  a  living 
inspiration,  and  his  work  points  out  the  way  as  a  guide 
in  what  the  future  must  bring. 


A   PIONEER   SOCIAL  WORKER 

BY  SOLOMON  LOWENSTEIN 

To  be  most  authentic,  an  account  of  Professor  Sabso- 
vich  as  a  social  worker  should  be  written  by  one  who 
knew  him  intimately  during  the  time  of  his  great  work 
in  the  building  up  of  the  Woodbine  Colony,  but  unfor- 
tunately most  of  his  colleagues  of  that  period  are  no 
longer  available  in  social  work.  This  defect,  however, 
is  rendered  less  serious  by  the  beautiful  and  simple 
presentation  of  his  activities  at  that  time  contained  in 
the  foregoing  memorial  by  Mrs.  Sabsovich. 

To  those  of  us  who  were  associated  with  him  in  his 
social  service  in  later  years,  the  impression  that  remains 
is  chiefly  one  of  a  thoroughly  human,  sympathetic  per- 
sonality whose  really  positive  force  and  firm  decision 
were  always  clothed  by  a  congenial  and  lovable  person- 
ality. His  was  a  mind  whose  honesty  no  one  could  doubt 
for  an  instant — it  was  crystal  clear.  The  elements  of 
any  question,  no  matter  how  complicated  or  intricate, 
revealed  themselves  to  him  almost  instantly  and  he  was 
able  to  formulate  the  resulting  proposition  in  a  form  so 
clear  and  simple  as  to  be  intelligible  to  any  who  cared 
to  listen.  He  knew  no  discrimination  because  of  position 
or  reputation  or  wealth.  He  was  fearless  in  his  judg- 
ment, once  convinced  of  the  rectitude  of  his  position,  no 
matter  what  institutions  or  personalities  were  involved. 
He  had  a  power  of  righteous  indignation,  at  times  seem- 
ingly inconsistent  with  his  ordinary  gentleness  of  manner 
whenever  he  believed  that  injustice  was  being  done, 
especially  to  the  weak  or  the  subordinate. 

163 


164    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

His  work  was  carried  on  at  a  time  when  the  trained 
social  worker  was  still  occupying  a  new  and  indefinite 
position  among  his  professional  brethren,  when  ethical 
standards  had  not  yet  been  developed  and  when  the  rela- 
tions between  paid  workers  and  their  volunteer  boards  of 
trustees  were  not  always  either  harmonious  or  dignified. 

Though  his  own  position  was  a  happy  one  as  a  result 
of  years  of  acquaintance  and  common  work,  he  felt  most 
keenly  the  difficulties  of  some  of  his  less  fortunate  col- 
leagues and  was  foremost  among  those  striving  to  dignify 
the  position  of  social  worker  and  to  improve  the  per- 
sonnel of  those  engaged  in  these  important  tasks.  As 
a  result  he  was  among  the  first  to  urge  the  need  and  to 
co-operate  in  the  creation  of  special  courses  and  schools 
for  Jewish  social  workers  and  was  particularly  inter- 
ested in  the  establishment  of  a  plan  for  retirement  allow- 
ances and  pensions  for  Jewish  social  workers  so  that  the 
work  might  at  least  offer  financial  security  and  attractive- 
ness equivalent  to  that  in  the  field  of  education.  As 
President  of  the  Jewish  Social  Workers  of  Greater  New 
York  and  as  Chairman  of  a  special  committee  for  this 
purpose  appointed  by  the  National  Conference  of  Jewish 
Social  Work,  he  labored  to  the  full  extent  of  his  strength 
for  this  desired  end. 

He  was  one  of  a  small  group  of  executives  in  New 
York,  most  of  whom  have  now  been  lost  to  the  profes- 
sion, by  death  or  retirement,  who  for  a  number  of  years 
met  monthly  at  the  homes  of  the  members  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  questions  of  common  interest  and  for  the 
improvement  of  their  own  work,  that  of  the  organiza- 
tions which  they  represented  and  of  Jewish  social  service 
in  general.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  value  of  these 
meetings  in  the  progress  of  Jewish  social  service  in  New 
York  and  particularly  in  the  development  of  professional 


A    PIONEER    SOCIAL    WORKER       165 

spirit  among  those  privileged  to  be  of  the  group.  Among 
all  the  members  there  was  none  whose  advice  was  so 
eagerly  sought  or  whose  judgment  more  respected  than 
Professor  Sabsovich,  and  in  this  connection  he  displayed 
another  of  the  charming  qualities  which  so  endeared  him 
to  his  friends — the  delightful  hospitality  of  his  home 
when  in  the  regular  course  the  group  had  the  happiness 
to  be  the  guests  of  Professor  and  Mrs.  Sabsovich.  His 
entertainment  was  so  generous  yet  so  thoroughly  infor- 
mal and  congenial,  there  was  such  a  pervasive  hospitality 
that  the  meetings  at  his  home  were  likely  to  endure  far 
beyond  the  normal  hour. 

To  the  rest  of  the  group,  chiefly  Americans  by  birth 
and  early  training,  it  was  a  rare  advantage  to  be  able 
to  absorb  from  Professor  Sabsovich  (in  this  respect  the 
late  Dr.  Blaustein  should  also  be  mentioned)  the  spir- 
ituality and  idealism  represented  and  acquired  by  them 
from  their  early  life  in  Russia.  Their  wholehearted  devo- 
tion to  the  masses  of  their  people,  the  revolutionary  ideals 
which  they  brought  with  them  and  the  humanity  of  the 
relationship  which  they  typified  gave  to  us  of  a  different 
background  an  inspiration  and  a  stimulus  the  value  of 
which  cannot  be  overestimated. 

Thus  in  simplicity,  in  earnestness  and  enthusiasm  he 
worked  himself  away.  He  was  so  quiet,  so  gentle  in  his 
zeal  that  we  did  not  realize  the  extent  to  which  he  was 
giving  of  his  strength  to  his  daily  work.  The  end  came 
too  soon  and  unawares.  We  were  left  with  a  sense  of 
profound  loss.  We  had  lost  a  true  friend  and  a  noble 
man  but  the  inspiration  of  his  influence  and  his  character 
has  served  to  hearten  many  a  worker  who  had  the  blessing 
of  his  friendship  and  shared  with  him  in  common  service 
for  the  Jewish  people. 


A  LIFE  NOBLY  LIVED 

BY   BERNARD  A.   PALITZ 

Professor  H.  L.  Sabsovich  stands  in  a  niche  all  his 
own  in  the  field  of  Jewish  social  service.  His  life  was 
whole-heartedly,  honestly  and  unselfishly  dedicated  to 
the  hope  of  creating  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  his 
suffering  people.  In  his  labor  for  their  welfare  there 
was  a  spirituality  that  fired  him  with  noble  ambition, 
caused  him  to  understand  and  feel  the  actual  needs  of 
the  Jewish  race  as  a  whole  and  developed  in  him  to  a  high 
degree  that  power  of  concentration,  that  tireless  zeal  and 
unshadowed  depth  of  faith  in  the  possibilities  of  a  new 
Israel  in  this  new  land  which  made  him  notable  from  the 
day  he  shook  the  dust  of  his  native  country  from  his  feet. 

His  personality  will  for  a  long  time,  like  a  stream  of 
light,  linger  in  the  memory  of  a  host  of  friends  and  fol- 
lowers. As  an  exponent  of  the  highest  type  of  social 
workers,  his  name  will  forever  be  associated  with  the 
most  interesting  page  in  the  history  of  Jewish  social  ser- 
vice in  America.  His  life  has  this  double  interest  for 
this  as  well  as  the  generations  to  come. 

Professor  Sabsovich  came  to  his  new  land  with  his 
work  found  and  mapped  out  and  consecrated  to  the 
service  of  a  cause,  the  underlying  purpose  of  which  was 
to  tear  out  by  the  root  the  foe's  repeated  declaration — 
made  in  ignorance  and  based  on  twisted  historical  facts 
— that  the  Jew  is  inherently  averse  to  productive  labor, 
and  to  bring  real  and  permanent  blessedness  and  peace 

166 


A   LIFE   NOBLY   LIVED  167 

to  the  Jewish  immigrant  running  from  the  hosts  of  mad- 
dened mobs  and  oppressive,  degrading,  lawless  laws. 

Jews  were  permitted,  against  the  wishes  of  Peter  Stuy- 
vesant,  by  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  to  settle  in 
New  York,  on  condition  *'that  the  poor  among  them  shall 
not  become  a  burden  to  the  community  but  be  supported 
by  their  own  nation."  Little  did  they  suspect  that  the 
time  was  coming  when  the  Jewish  settlers  were  not  alone 
being  prevented  from  falling  a  burden,  but,  by  attaching 
themselves  to  the  soil,  were  gradually  lining  up  as  pro- 
viders for  the  community,  interested,  as  loyal  citizens  and 
responsible  owners  of  homes,  in  its  permanent  welfare, 
morally  and  materially. 

To  bring  about  this  improvement  on  the  stipulation 
of  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  was  the  ultimate  aim 
of  Baron  de  Hirsch,  the  ardent  desire  of  the  administra- 
tors of  his  foundation,  and  the  unremitting  efforts  of 
their  conscientious  resourceful  collaborator,  Professor 
Sabsovich. 

Professor  Sabsovich  dealt  with  ideas  which  he  strove, 
with  sincere  desire  and  proper  understanding,  to  bring 
into  real  life.  Contemplating  on  the  past  and  present  of 
his  weary  race,  and  through  his  close  and  intimate  study 
of  the  relations  of  the  non-Jewish  to  the  Jewish  masses, 
he  became  aware  that  the  political  and  social  emancipa- 
tion of  the  Jew,  in  any  land,  is  not  and  will  not,  by  itself, 
solve  the  Jewish  problem  and  that  our  pointing  with 
pride  to  Jewish  great  lights  who  won  fame  and  stand 
high  in  the  world's  larger  affairs  does  not  affect  the  state 
of  mind  of  the  neighboring  masses  who  come  in  contact, 
in  their  everyday  life,  with  the  Jewish  masses  only.  He 
was  convinced  through  personal  observations  and  reflec- 
tion on  the  incessant  trials  of  the  Jew,  whether  in  en- 
lightened or  unprogressive  lands — ^trials  differing  only  in 


168    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

color  and  in  form  but  not  in  substance — that  hand  in 
hand  with  the  spiritual  and  intellectual  reform  there  must 
come  the  economic  emancipation  of  the  Jewish  masses 
which  will  make  them  an  indispensable  factor  of  their 
country's  material  existence  and  a  part  of  the  nation's 
nursing  force. 

Recognized  as  a  true  social  worker,  equipped,  in  soul 
and  mind,  with  the  proper  strength  to  cope  with  big 
problems,  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  one  of  the  most 
important  tasks  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund — that  of 
directing  the  agricultural  movement  among  the  Jewish 
immigrant  population. 

Activities  in  this  direction  were  started  in  this  country 
long  before  his  advent,  but  the  movement  was  all  in  a 
fog.  The  early  attempts  at  colonization  and  farm  settle- 
ment and  things  accomplished  are  too  well  known  to 
need  reiteration  here.  The  same  characteristic  marks 
noticeable  in  individual  ventures  made  in  haste,  without 
due  consideration  and  patient  study,  are  found  in  philan- 
thropic enterprises,  with  emotion  as  the  chief  moving 
factor  and  not  based  on  studied  and  thoroughly  analyzed 
experience  and  not  directed  by  a  trained  scientific  mind. 

As  one  looking  for  results  rather  than  aiming  to  simply 
"do  things"  he  was  determined  to  work  out  the  agricul- 
tural activities  among  Jews  to  their  proper  consequences. 
While  the  aim  of  the  movement  was  mainly  economic, 
the  means  to  reach  it,  he  held,  must  run  along  both  educa- 
tional and  physical  lines.  Being  himself  highly  intellec- 
tual and  knowing  that  in  order  to  fit  one  for  leading 
positions  in  the  great  agricultural  industry  in  this  coun- 
try, he  must  be  given  an  opportunity  to  acquire  a  thor- 
ough practical  as  well  as  theoretical  training,  Professor 
Sabsovich  sought  to  interest  the  young  rather  than  the 
adults.     "Not  only,"  said  he,  "is  it  necessary  to  change 


A   LIFE   NOBLY   LIVED  169 

the  physical  habits  and  customs  of  the  prospective  farmer 
but  a  mental  turn-over  must  be  effected  in  order  to  bring 
results." 

The  general  absence  of  any  vision  on  the  part  of  many 
leaders  in  American  Israel,  regarding  the  agricultural 
movement,  was  a  source  of  grave  concern  to  him.  So 
far  the  activities  had  been  confined  to  settling  on  farms 
men  of  mature  age  with  habits  of  living  formed  and  city 
ideas  of  life  embedded  in  them  for  centuries. 

Considering  this  movement  for  the  future  rather  than 
for  the  immediate  present,  he  addressed  himself  to  the 
young  and  still  growing  minds  and  out  of  his  efforts,  the 
Baron  de  Hirsch  Agricultural  School  for  the  Jewish 
youth  became  a  reality. 

In  his  annual  report  for  the  year  1896,  Professor 
Sabsovich  writes: 

''Jewish  agriculture  in  whatever  part  of  the  globe  it 

may  be  practised,  has  a  special  interest  and  is  of  a  par- 
ticular importance,  not  common  to  agriculture  as  such, 
and  namely,  it  is  a  living  proof  of  the  falsehood  of  the 
assertion  of  the  political  anti-semites  in  Russia,  that  the 
Russian  Jew  avoids  productive  work,  especially  the  noble 
vocation  of  the  tiller  of  the  soil.  It  further  proves  that 
whenever  and  wherever  the  Russian  Jew  enjoys  political 
freedom  and  freedom  of  selection  of  a  calling,  he  does 
not  neglect  agriculture  as  well. 

"Anything  which  helps  to  develop  Jewish  agriculture 
is  of  great  importance  above  named.  Our  school  which 
has  grown  from  a  very  modest  beginning  is  becoming  one 
of  the  factors  of  improving  and  enlarging  of  Jewish 
agriculture  in  this  country.  That  there  is  a  tendency 
on  the  part  of  a  large  portion  of  newcomers  to  our 
country  among  the  Russian  Jews  to  devote  their  means 
and  abilities  to  agriculture,  the  past  has  proved  to  be  so." 


170    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

Agricultural  training  for  the  young  was  at  the  same 
time  calculated  to  serve  as  a  medium  for  the  betterment 
of  the  material  condition  of  the  existing  and  prospective 
farmers  of  the  older  generation  who,  lacking  the  prac- 
tical and  theoretical  knowledge  of  American  farming, 
needed  guidance  and  advice.  In  the  same  report  Pro- 
fessor Sabsovich  writes; 

"It  was  natural  to  provide  an  institution  for  dissem- 
inating agricultural  knowledge  among  the  Jewish  farm- 
ers by  giving  agricultural  education  to  their  children, 
and  by  preparing  agricultural  instructors  and  inspectors.*' 

The  early  stages  of  the  career  of  the  Agricultural 
School  were  not  without  disappointments  and  hardships. 
At  best  it  was  a  journey  of  some  swerves  and  concussions. 
But  devotion  and  persistency — his  outstanding  character- 
istics— increased  with  the  growth  of  his  conviction  that 
the  "out  of  the  city  and  back  to  the  country'*  idea  was 
taking  root  in  the  heart  and  mind  of  the  tired  wanderer 
himself.  No  obstacle  or  hardship  ever  discouraged  him 
or  deterred  him  from  prosecuting  his  task.  For  though 
an  idealist,  his  actions  were  not  founded  on  imagination 
nor  grounded  on  fancifulness,  but  always  carried  the 
stamp  of  a  constructive  and  creative  mind. 

The  enthusiasm  with  which  hundreds  of  Jewish  yotmg 
men  have  entered  and  passed  the  Agricultural  School, 
and  adjusted  themselves  permanently  to  the  farming 
trade  and  country  life  after  graduation;  the  fact  that 
shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  school  in  Woodbine  a 
need  for  another  similar  institution  became  apparent, 
resulting  in  the  establishment  of  the  National  Farm 
School;  the  rapid  spread  of  Jewish  farming  settlements 
in  every  State  of  the  Union,  the  material  betterment  and 


A   LIFE   NOBLY   LIVED  171 

general  improvement  of  which  is  due,  in  a  large  measure, 
to  the  valuable  educational  help  given  by  the  graduates 
of  the  two  schools ;  and  finally,  the  increasing  number  of 
Jewish  students  attending  State  agricultural  institutions 
in  the  country,  secondary  schools  and  colleges,  bring  to 
light  ample  proof  of  the  correctness  of  his  judgment  and 
his  correct  appraisal  of  the  requirements  and  possibilities 
of  Jewish  agriculture. 

It  also  completely  disproves  the  erroneous  conclusion 
of  our  foes  and  friends  alike  that  the  Jew  is  too  good  a 
tradesman  to  make  a  good  agriculturist.  What  is  true 
is  the  fact  that  the  Jew  is  too  vigorous  intellectually  and 
has  amassed  during  his  long  centuries  of  exile  too  large 
a  fund  of  mental  energy  to  limit  himself  to  work  of  a 
physical  character  only.  Agricultural  education  for  the 
Jewish  youth  combining  mental  action  and  physical  equa- 
tion was  the  movement  shouldered  by  Professor  Sabso- 
vich,  encouraged  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch 
Fund.  In  this  he  saw  the  salvation  of  his  people ;  through 
this  he  comprehended  a  Judaism  come  back  to  its  own 
and  by  this  he  sought  to  silence  its  traducers  and  libelers. 

Will  this  product  of  a  useful  life  continue  to  blossom 
and  bear  further  and  larger  fruit  so  that  in  due  time  a 
good  part  of  our  people  will  live  in  peace  that  only  nature 
can  provide?  Will  our  practical  leaders  see  the  danger 
that  threatens  our  moral,  physical  and  political  status 
and  bend  their  energies  towards  the  creation  of  a  new 
social  posture  for  our  people  so  well  started  by  our 
deceased  friend?  Will  our  philanthropists  analyze  and 
learn  from  the  past  and  find  out  how  much  calumny  there 
would  have  been  checked,  how  much  sufifering  prevented 
and  how  many  lives  spared  if  the  bulk  of  our  people  had 
been  tillers  of  the  soil  instead  of  children  of  the  Ghetto? 
Will  those  who  have  minds  and  hearts  also  have  the 


172    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

vision  to  see  that  the  changing  order  requires  more  pre- 
ventive than  remedial  charity!  Will  our  statesmen  re- 
member the  cruel  and  unceremonious  answer  given  by 
the  Polish  Premier  to  a  Jewish  delegation  that  he  and 
the  Polish  people  would  rather  see  the  Jews  leave  that 
country  and,  this  being  manifested  covertly  or  openly 
by  many  other  governments  and  peoples,  will  not  those 
who  watch  over  the  destinies  of  the  people  see  that  no 
group  or  part  of  a  population,  attached  to  land  as  an 
essential  limb  of  the  national  body,  can  be  easily  uprooted, 
heartlessly  persecuted  and  suffered  to  be  tossed  about 
from  place  to  place?  Will  they  not  all  make  haste  and 
avail  themselves  of  the  golden  opportunity  offered  by  this 
free  land,  with  its  millions  of  inviting  acres,  and  with 
the  art  of  agriculture  making  giant  strides,  and  thereby 
save  millions  of  our  brethren  from  torture  and  degrada- 
tion in  the  future,  which  has  not  or  rather  could  not  be 
done  in  the  past? 

Let  us  hope,  yes.    Professor  Sabsovich  blazed  the  way ! 

Next  to  his  intensive  study  and  sublime  efforts  in  the 
interest  of  agricultural  education  for  the  Jewish  youth 
and  the  promotion  of  the  farming  industry  among  the 
Jewish  population  in  general,  his  main  and  most  impor- 
tant work,  from  the  point  of  view  of  community  organ- 
ization and  methods  of  Americanization,  was  the  found- 
ing and  up-building  of  the  town  of  Woodbine,  which 
formed  another  chapter  of  a  life  replete  with  service  and 
unselfish  labor. 

Here,  as  in  the  many  other  activities  of  the  Baron  de 
Hirsch  Fund,  his  native  power,  executive  ability,  genuine 
devotion  and  self-denial  have  manifested  themselves  in 
their  full  strength,  and  here,  his  personality,  his  character 
and  his  wonderful  gift  of  inspiring  people  with  con- 


A   LIFE   NOBLY   LIVED  173 

fidence  in  themselves  and  loyalty  to  the  cause  he  repre- 
sented, found  scope  and  outlet. 

When  it  became  evident  that  Woodbine  could  not  per- 
manently exist  as  an  exclusively  agricultural  settlement 
and  that,  in  order  to  insure  its  economic  stability,  it  must 
be  reinforced  by  industrial  opportunities,  the  Trustees 
of  the  Fund  found  Professor  Sabsovich  ready  for  the 
gigantic  task  of  building  the  community,  physically,  edu- 
cationally, socially  and  politically. 

It  is  well  to  remark  here,  that,  although  the  Baron  de 
Hirsch  Fund  was  the  sponsor  of  Woodbine  and  stood 
behind  all  its  initial  undertakings,  it  was  the  early  settlers 
themselves  who,  by  hard  labor  and  with  the  tenacity 
and  endurance  of  the  pioneer,  have  wholeheartedly  co- 
operated in  the  working  out  of  the  problem  of  their  new 
social  unit,  and  who  have  proved  themselves  able  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  American  life  and  American 
concepts. 

In  Professor  Sabsovich  they  found  their  inspiration 
and  his  keen  and  practical  insight  into  human  nature  and 
human  motives  enabled  him  to  awaken  the  dormant  quali- 
ties in  men  who,  as  free  individuals  and  eager  to  tie 
themselves  permanently  to  their  new  home-land,  soon 
evinced  their  own  vitality  and  discovered  in  their  leader 
a  personality  with  whom  they  could  readily  come  to  a 
feeling  of  unrestrained  intimacy. 

The  founding  of  the  town  of  Woodbine  and  the  deci- 
sion of  the  Trustees  of  the  Fund  to  stimulate  its  growth 
and  development  constituted  a  duty  of  the  hour.  It  was 
along  the  lines  of  a  general  course  of  action  necessitated 
by  the  conditions  that  faced  American  Jewry,  when  the 
proportion  of  immigrants  settling  in  the  crowded  cities 
threatened  to  produce  a  frame  of  mind  in  the  American 
people  against  unrestricted  immigration. 


174    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

Various  plans  have  then  been  devised  to  help  divert 
the  stream  from  the  large  centers  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  to  the  interior  of  the  country  and  smaller  com- 
munities. The  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  sought  to  avoid 
serious  consequences  by  helping  other  organizations  to 
establish  immigrants  in  less  congested  localities,  by  sup- 
porting farm  settlements,  by  erecting  dwellings  near  New- 
York,  known  as  Borough  Homes,  and  by  subsidizing 
industries  in  Woodbine. 

Professor  Sabsovich  paid  particular  attention  and  took 
special  pride  in  Woodbine  not  alone  because  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  country  life  and  wholesome  social  surround- 
ings it  offered  to  the  immigrant,  but  also  because  of  the 
monumental  opportunity  it  afforded  to  demonstrate  be- 
fore the  world  the  willingness  and  readiness  of  the  Jew 
to  adapt  himself  to  the  new  forces  which  are  moving  a 
free  people  and  his  recognition  and  acceptance  of  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  imposed,  as  well  as  the  rights 
and  privileges  bestowed  upon  him  by  a  free  democracy. 

Indeed,  the  early  Woodbine  settlers  have  proven  that 
the  real  and  immediate  solution  of  the  problem  of  Amer- 
icanization lies  not  so  much  in  organized  propaganda 
and  neighborhood  influence  as  in  the  mental  make  up  and 
ethical  conception  of  the  immigrant  himself. 

Without  any  external  and,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  profes- 
sional Americanization  programs,  and  not  brought  in 
direct  and  frequent  contact  with  the  native  population, 
the  newcomers  at  Woodbine  have,  spontaneously  and 
instinctively,  as  if  by  the  mere  breath  of  the  free  atmos- 
phere, taken  America  as  their  ideal  and  reality.  And  it 
cannot  be  otherwise.  Those  who  know  the  Jewish  life 
in  the  centuries  of  wandering  and  the  source  from  which 
it  draws  its  spiritual  and  cultural  subsistence  must  know 
the  Jewish  view  and  interpretation  of  the  relationship  of 


A   LIFE   NOBLY   LIVED  175 

the  individual  to  the  interests  of  his  nation  and  the  social 
structure  as  a  whole.    In  the  words  of  Dr.  Kohler: 

"The  Jewish  love  of  learning  led  to  an  ever  greater 
longing  for  truth  by  adding  wisdom  of  other  cultured 
nations  to  its  store  of  knowledge.^ 

"The  idea  of  interdependence  and  reciprocal  duty 
among  all  members  of  the  human  family  forms  the  out- 
standing characteristic  of  Jewish  ethics.^ 

"In  fact,  the  State  which  guarantees  to  all  its  citizens 
safety,  order  and  opportunity  under  the  law  and  which 
arranges  the  relations  of  the  various  groups  and  classes 
of  society  that  they  may  advance  one  another  and  thus 
promote  the  welfare  and  progress  of  all,  is  human  society 
in  miniature.  Here  the  citizen  first  learns  obedience  to 
the  law  which  is  binding  upon  all  alike,  then  respect  and 
reverence  for  the  authority  embodied  in  the  guardians 
of  the  law  who  administer  justice  *  which  is  God's*  and 
hence  also  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  whole,  together 
with  reciprocal  obligation  and  helpfulness  among  sep- 
arate members  and  classes  of  society."  * 

The  Jewish  immigrants  in  Woodbine  started  the  build- 
ing of  American  public  schools  for  their  children  and 
organized  themselves  into  political  groups  and  civic  asso- 
ciations, in  order  to  understand  better  how  to  serve  their 
new  land,  in  the  same  spirit  and  with  the  same  enthu- 
siasm, as  they  erected  their  synagogues,  formed  brother- 
hoods and  other  religious  and  charitable  institutions. 
Professor  Sabsovich  understood  and  encouraged  them  in 
their  social  and  civic  aspirations,  as  in  their  economic  and 
educational  strivings  and,  as  leader,  friend  and  counselor, 
grew  in  love  and  esteem  of  every  man,  woman  and  child 
in  town. 

1.  "Jewish  Theology,"  by  Dr.  K.  Kohler,  p.  35S, 

2.  Jind.,  p.  319. 
^.  Ibid.,  V.  320, 


176    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

His  care  and  solicitude  for  the  good  name  of  the  newly 
formed  community  knew  no  bounds  and  he  was  as  elated 
over  the  little  boy  or  girl  winning  the  prize  in  the  inter- 
county  spelling  contest  as  he  was  proud  of  one  of  the 
graduates  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Agricultural  School 
becoming  the  head  of  the  Agricultural  Department  of 
the  State  and  an  authority  on  soil  bacteriology. 

As  early  as  1892  he  reports  thus  to  the  Trustees  of  the 
Fund : 

"How  great  such  progress  has  been  is  best  shown  by 
the  present  aspect  and  condition  of  Woodbine ;  its  streets, 
roads,  dwellings,  schools,  hotel,  electrical  plant,  industrial 
establishments  and  farms,  are  more  eloquent  than  any 
description  that  might  be  written.  All  those  who  saw 
Woodbine  eighteen  months  ago*  when  it  was  nothing  but 
a  great  barren  plain,  covered  with  a  growth  of  stunted 
bushes,  must  acknowledge  without  reserve  that  a  laud- 
able and  well-directed  energy,  supplemented  by  the  efforts 
of  new  immigrants  has  here  opened  up  a  broad  field  of 
prosperity.  Hither  we  invite  the  narrcfw-minded •enemies 
of  our  immigrants  to  convert  them  in  the  face  of  such 
achievements,  into  friends.*' 

Again,  in  his  report  for  the  year  1898,  he  writes : 

"The  peaceful  and  progressive  activity  of  the  Wood- 
bine population  is  conquering  the  prejudices  of  our  neigh- 
bors and  there  is  hardly  a  thinking  man  in  Cape  May 
County  who  is  not  fast  becoming  convinced  that  Wood- 
bine has  come  to  stay,  not  only  for  the  benefit  of  its  own 
population,  but  also  for  the  community  at  large.  The 
intelligent  elements  of  the  County,  as  represented  in  the 
County  Teachers'  Association,  the  Association  of  Mem- 
bers of  the  several  Boards  of  Education,  and  the  leading 
farmers,  on  several  occasions,  at  their  Annual  Meetings 
and  Institutes  have  expressed  their  appreciation  of  the 


A   LIFE   NOBLY   LIVED  177 

educational  work  carried  on  by  us ;  in  fact,  our  Agricul- 
tural School  is  becoming  so  popular  that  the  Farmer's 
Institute  of  the  Cape  May  County  Board  of  Agriculture, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  and 
the  State  Grange  was  held  at  De  Hirsch  Hall,  which  is 
also  selected  as  the  place  for  the  next  Annual  Meeting  of 
the  Association  of  the  Educational  Boards  of  the 
County." 

That  not  only  the  County  but  also  the  State  authorities 

^  recognized  the  value  of  his  work  in  Woodbine  and  his 

personal  merits  has  been  shown  by  the  honor  conferred 

upon  him  in  electing  him  a  life  member  of  the  Board  of 

the  State  Agricultural  College,  in  1905. 

His  relations  to  the  people  of  Woodbine  were  fatherly 
and  marked  with  most  unselfish  generosity.  He  was 
entirely  free  from  all  personal  bitterness.  On  one  occa- 
sion the  writer  was  handed  by  him  a  letter  addressed  to 
him  by  a  disgruntled  manufacturer.  The  letter  was  full 
of  insults  and  vilifications.  To  the  questions  what  he 
will  do  about  it,  he  answered,  in  his  characteristic  way, 
that  his  personal  feeling  did  not  matter,  as  long  as  the 
writer  of  the  letter  was  otherwise  a  beneficial  factor  in 
the  town. 

As  could  be  expected  under  the  circumstances.  Wood- 
bine, as  a  typical  Jewish  immigrant  community,  has  fo- 
cused the  attention  of  many  a  sociologist  interested  in 
the  life  and  doings  of  former  abject  subjects  of  dark 
countries  and  now  sovereign  citizens  of  this  truly  blessed 
Commonwealth.  Among  the  many  visitors  and  students 
of  sociology  there  were  some  who  justly  or  unjustly 
found  fault  with  the  management  or  the  people.  Pro- 
fessor Sabsovich  never  failed  to  explain  honest  criticism 
and  to  challenge  censures  called  out  by  ulterior  motives, 
or  false  observation. 


178    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

It  may  not  be  amiss  at  this  juncture  to  correct  a  state- 
ment made  by  Mr.  Peter  A.  Speek  in  his  otherwise 
attractive  treatise  on  the  absorbing  question  of  American- 
ization. In  his  book,  "A  State  in  the  Land,"  page  176, 
there  appears  the  following  passage: 

"The  local  manager  of  the  Hirsch  fund  in  Woodbine, 
New  Jersey,  a  Jewish  colony,  stated  that  there  is  in  the 
colony  a  Hebrew  school  supported  by  individuals  and  to 
a  certain  degree  by  the  Hirsch  fund.  It  is  a  Hebrew 
school  connected  with  activities  of  the  synagogue,  main- 
tained for  religious  purposes.  It  corresponds  to  the  paro- 
chial school  of  Christian  churches.  About  sixty  pupils 
attend  this  school." 

This  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  facts.  The  Hebrew 
school  referred  to  is  not  a  parochial  school.  It  is  a 
school  where  Hebrew  is  taught.  It  is  a  place  where  the 
children  are  given  religious  instruction,  after  the  regular 
public  school  hours.  There  was  no  such  thing  with  the 
Jewish  people  of  Woodbine  as  a  parochial  school,  in 
the  sense  and  with  the  purpose  it  is  maintained  and  con- 
ducted by  other  denominations  mentioned  in  other  parts 
of  his  book  and  justly  criticized  by  him.  There  was 
not  and  there  is  not  one  child  of  school  age  in  Wood- 
bine who  does  not  attend  the  public  schools  and  the 
great  majority  of  the  graduates  of  the  latter  enter  high 
schools.  These  schools  are  maintained  partly  by  the 
State  and  partly  by  the  Borough  and  supervised  by  the 
County  Superintendent,  and  their  curriculum  is  fixed  by 
the  State  and  County  authorities.  There  is  not  a  young 
man  or  a  young  woman  in  Woodbine  whose  tongue  is 
not  English  and  whose  thought  is  not  American.  They 
are,  of  course,  taught  by  their  parents  the  tenets  of  their 


A   LIFE   NOBLY   LIVED  179 

religion.     It  would  indeed  15e  a  sorry  departure  if  this 
were  not  the  case. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  more  thorough  observer,  who 
also  visited  Woodbine  recently  for  the  same  purpose, 
has  the  following  to  say  about  the  educational  activities 
of  the  Jews  of  that  town: 

"While  the  center  of  the  Bohemian  community  was 
seen  to  be  the  freethinking  society,  and  that  of  the  Dutch 
community  the  church,  in  the  case  of  this  Jewish  com- 
munity the  center  is  the  public  school.  A  supervising 
principal  is  in  general  administrative  charge.  The  pres- 
ent incumbent  has  held  this  position  some  twelve  years. 
Although  himself  a  Christian,  he  is  thoroughly  interested 
in  and  identified  with  the  community,  as  are  the  members 
of  his  family. 

"School  attendance  is  excellent,  and  there  is  little  ab- 
sence, except  on  the  part  of  non-Jewish  children,  in 
whose  case  regulations  are  not  strictly  enforced.  There 
are  a  few  children  of  the  local  native  American  stock, 
who  are  unprogressive  and  deficient  both  physically  and 
mentally.  Only  about  10  per  cent  of  the  Jewish  chil- 
dren leave  to  go  to  work  before  completing  the  eighth 
grade;  of  those  who  remain,  close  to  90  per  cent  go  to 
high  school ;  and  of  these,  in  turn,  nearly  half  finish  the 
liigh  school  course."  ^ 

From  the  start  the  influence  of  Professor  Sabsovich 
permeated  every  phase  of  the  town  development  and 
especially  education  matters.  But  he  was  careful  not 
to  interfere  with  the  desire  of  the  people  and  their  free- 
dom of  action,  and  it  was  one  of  the  remarkable  traits 
of  his  character  that  he  knew  how  to  fix  the  boundaries 
of  his  influence. 

1  "America  via  the  Neighborhood,"  pp.  50-51,  by  John  Daniels. 


180    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

When  Woodbine  was  incorporated  into  a  separate 
Borough  he  felt  that  his  mission  as  leader  of  the  com- 
munity had  ended,  and  that  the  people  would  achieve 
more  in  the  absence  of  outside  influences  than  in  their 
presence,  when  they  themselves  are  the  sole  keepers  of 
the  doors  of  opportunity.  Actuated  by  this  motive,  he 
accepted  the  post  of  General  Agent  of  the  Baron  de 
Hirsch  Fund,  when  it  was  offered  to  him,  in  1905. 

His  coming  from  Woodbine  to  New  York  was  not  to 
Professor  Sabsovich  a  sudden  move  from  the  desert  to 
a  cultivated  field.  For  though  in  Woodbine,  he  was 
active  in  a  distinct  sphere  of  social  endeavor,  his  interest 
in  general  charity  and  philanthropic  affairs  of  the  Jews 
in  America  was  ever  alive  and  he  was  always  a  con- 
spicuous figure  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Jewish  Social 
Workers  at  their  national  conferences.  The  monograph 
on  the  way  Jewish  charity  was  dispensed  in  Russia,  sub- 
mitted at  one  of  these  conferences,  by  him  and  Dr.  David 
Blaustein,  was  an  important  contribution  to  Jewish  char- 
ity literature,  and  his  views  on  general  human  activity 
were  sought  and  respected  at  those  gatherings. 

Though  his  duties  as  General  Agent  of  the  Baron  de 
Hirsch  Fund  were  numerous,  he  was  ever  ready  to  give 
his  time  and  lend  his  counsel  to  other  great  questions 
pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  the  Jews. 

He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  formation  of  the 
Jewish  Immigration  Committee  and  the  National  Jewish 
Immigration  Council,  whose  purposes  were  to  see  that 
the  immigrant  upon  his  arrival  receives  proper  treatment 
and  to  coordinate  immigration  societies  in  the  several 
ports  of  entry,  and  served  as  secretary  of  the  former 
organization  from  its  inception,  in  1910,  to  his  death. 

For  some  time  he  was  President  of  the  Society  of  Jew- 
ish Social  Workers  of  Greater  New  York.    In  this  capac- 


A   LIFE   NOBLY    LIVED  181 

ity  he  learned  and  formed  his  opinion  on  the  general 
status  of  the  Jewish  social  worker  in  this  country,  mate- 
rially and  in  other  respects.  The  various  opportunities 
offered  in  social  work  have  been  analyzed  and  individual- 
ized by  him  for  the  benefit  of  the  younger  workers,  and 
the  bringing  about  of  a  new  standard  in  the  profession 
was  one  of  the  many  problems  in  which  he  was  concerned 
during  the  last  years  of  his  earthly  life. 

He  strongly  advocated  the  opening  of  special  courses 
for  the  training  of  Jewish  social  workers,  and  the  idea 
of  founding  a  social  workers*  pension  fund  originated 
with  him  and  was  given  expression  at  the  National  Con- 
ferences. In  his  memorable  address,  delivered  before 
the  National  Conference  in  June,  1911,  he  made  the  fol- 
lowing striking  remarks : 

"Jewish  philanthropic  and  charitable  institutions  in 
the  United  States  are  no  longer  satisfied  with  the  serv- 
ices of  the  amateur  worker  or  of  the  down  and  out  mem- 
bers of  respectable  families  of  the  communities.  They 
want  well-prepared  and  thoroughly  qualified  workers." 

"There  is  at  present  a  scarcity  of  well-prepared  and 
qualified  workers.  Last  year  about  half  a  dozen  fine 
positions  in  the  country  went  a-begging. 

"To  attract  the  Jewish  young  men  and  young  women 
and  to  retain  them  in  service,  the  following  are  impor- 
tant requisites: 

"1.  To  raise  social  service  to  the  dignity  of  a  profes- 
sion by  demanding  professional  preparation  on  the  part 
of  the  social  worker. 

"2.  To  offer  to  the  prospective  social  worker  a  salary 
sufficient  for  a  modest  but  decent  living. 

"3.  To  assure  the  social  worker  that  he  or  she  will 
not  starve  in  the  case  of  a  breakdown  or  a  total  dis- 
ability, and  that  his  or  her  family  will  not  suffer  should 
they  die." 


182    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

In  the  history  of  Jewish  social  service  the  work  of 
Professor  Sabsovich  will  be  recorded  and  judged  by  the 
fruit  it  has  borne,  and  by  the  unselfish  motive  with  which 
this  work  was  carried  on.  For  he  did  not  make  his 
profession  "a  crown  wherewith  to  aggrandize  himself," 
nor  "a  vestibule  that  he  may  enter  a  palace"  of  ease  and 
riches.  The  field  of  social  effort  for  the  good  of  his 
people  was  his  palace  and  the  burdens  he  carried  all 
through  life  were  his  crown. 

He  loved  his  burdens  and  bore  them  gladly,  patiently 
and  willingly.  Like  Hamsun*s  Isak,  *'life  without  a  load 
was"  to  him  "no  life  at  all." 


OUR  TEACHER 

BY  SAUL  DRUCKER 

"A  good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches, 
and  loving-kindness,  rather  than  silver  and  gold." 

And  because  he  had  chosen  as  he  did,  his  mourners, 
whose  names  are  legion,  will  cherish  the  good  name  he 
left  and  keep  the  heritage  of  loving-kindness  he  gave 
them,  with  greater  pride  and  care  than  if  it  had  been 
silver  and  gold  bequeathed. 

Born  in  Russia,  that  most  unfortunate  of  all  birth- 
places for  the  Jew,  Hirsch  Loeb  Sabsovich  in  the  early 
adolescence  of  his  manhood,  while  still  a  student  at  the 
University,  keenly  realized  the  efforts  made  by  the  anti- 
Semitic  government  to  dwarf  the  Jew  both  physically 
and  mentally,  and  cripple  his  opportunities.  He  knew 
the  futility  of  appealing  to  the  justice  of  officials  who 
excused  their  mediaeval  persecutions  and  cruelties  under 
the  plea  that  the  Jew  is  a  consumer  and  not  a  producer; 
he  knew,  too,  the  several  spasmodic  and  theatrical  at- 
tempts made  by  the  government  to  make  the  Jew  a 
producer  of  the  soil,  which  had  suffered  disastrous  fail- 
ure, naturally  enough,  because  the  Jew  had  neither  the 
knowledge  nor  the  wherewithal  to  become  a  soil  pro- 
ducer. It  was  then  that  the  conviction  took  firm  root 
in  his  mind  that  nothing  like  being  a  producer  of  the  soil 
would  bring  independence  and  happiness  to  his  people, 
and  gradually  the  "Back  to  the  Soil"  Movement  origi- 
nated in  his  brilliant  brain. 

He  immigrated  to  the  United  States,  and  at  once  inter- 

183 


184    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

ested  himself  in  Jewish  colonization.  Within  three  years 
of  his  landing  in  this  country,  his  views  on  the  subject 
attracted  such  favorable  attention  that,  while  still  occupy- 
ing the  position  of  professor  of  chemistry  at  the  Colorado 
State  Agricultural  College,  he  was  invited  by  the  trustees 
of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund'  to  take  charge  of  the  Wood- 
bine Colony.  The  task  confronting  him  was  an  extremely 
difficult  one.  His  object  was  to  teach  scientific  farming 
to  the  few  who  really,  by  the  sweat  of  their  brows,  eked 
out  a  wretched  subsistence  from  the  soil,  and  to  interest 
those  who  accepted  the  new  idea  with  the  presumption 
that  it  would  be  easy  to  resume  an  avocation  which  cen- 
turies upon  centuries  ago  had  been  wrested  from  their 
fathers.  But  the  chopping  down  of  trees,  the  selling  of 
wood  by  the  cord,  the  digging  out  of  stumps,  and  the 
general  labor  of  tilling  the  soil  were  not  found  to  be 
adaptable  to  the  first  settlers,  and  particularly  not  to  the 
younger  generation  of  would-be  farmers.  A  problem 
presented  itself,  then,  the  very  problem  that  today  con- 
fronts the  non-Jewish  farmer:  **How  is  the  younger 
generation  to  be  kept  on  the  farm?"  With  the  Jews, 
however,  the  problem  was  more  serious,  since  the  agri- 
cultural life  of  the  people  depended  upon  interesting 
the  youth  in  the  soil. 

It  was  then  that  Professor  Sabsovich  proved  himself 
to  be  a  good  psychologist.  In  his  thirst  for  knowledge 
and  opportunity  the  young  immigrant  would  not  be  satis- 
fied with  mere  farm  labor,  no  matter  how  promising  was 
the  prospect  as  a  future  tiller  of  the  soil.  As  a  result 
of  this  observation  the  Agricultural  School  of  Woodbine 
was  established,  where  the  children  of  farmers,  and 
others  attracted  by  agriculture,  could  be  given  a  general 
education  while  learning  scientific  farming.  It  was  an 
experiment,  but  so  well  was  a  demand  fulfilled,  and  such 


OUR   TEACHER  185 

was  its  progress,  that  it  became  an  established  institu- 
tion, thanks  to  the  indefatigable  labor,  patience  and  en- 
ergy of  the  man  whose  fertile  mind  conceived  it. 

The  colony  and  the  school  prospered,  one  gaining 
strength  from  the  other,  and  both  mutually  helpful.  The 
school  attracted  attention  throughout  the  country,  the 
trustees  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  were  interested 
and  enthusiastic,  and  the  Professor  realized  his  dream 
of  educating  the  youth  of  his  people  for  the  soil,  so  that 
the  Jew  should  take  naturally  and  willingly  to  agricul- 
ture. 

Still,  the  good  heart  and  able  brain  were  not  content 
with  their  achievements,  but  continued  to  work  and  plan. 
Believing  that  industry  wouM  materially  assist  the  farm- 
ers during  the  long,  cold  winters.  Professor  Sabsovich 
gradually  but  surely  succeeded  in  interesting  business 
men  in  his  plans,  and  several  factories  were  established. 
To  these  factories  came  workers  of  various  trades  in 
large  numbers ;  they  bought  small  homes,  cultivated  and 
developed  the  land  around  their  homes,  and,  with  thrift 
and  diligence,  rose  to  be  prominent  citizens  of  the  colony. 

It  was  then  that  the  many-sided  nature  of  the  Pro- 
fessor had  full  play.  As  manager  of  the  colony,  he  was 
at  once  brother  and  friend  to  each  and  every  one  of  the 
colonists,  rejoicing,  encouraging,  commending  in  good 
fortune;  and  consoling,  cheering  and  sympathizing  in 
misfortune  and  misery.  He  was  also  the  peacemaker 
and  arbitrator  in  all  civic  and  domestic  dissensions,  wisely 
holding  that  Jewish  cases  should  not  come  before  the 
legal  courts.  In  this  way  he  prevented,  or  amicably 
settled,  disputes  that  otherwise  would  have  brought  con- 
demnation, or,  to  say  the  least,  unfriendly  criticism  upon 
the  colonists  from  the  neighboring  villagers,  who  were 
at  first  not  disposed  to  regard  them  with  favor. 


186    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

As  superintendent  of  the  Woodbine  Agricultural 
School  the  Professor  was  a  wise  teacher  and  a  judicious 
mentor.  The  boys  found  in  him  what  many  had  in  all 
their  lives  lacked — a  source  of  inspiration  and  an  inter- 
ested friend  and  counselor.  His  rule  was  one  of  love, 
and  as  he  sowed,  so  he  reaped,  for  few  fathers  are  as 
beloved  and  respected  as  the  Professor  is,  even  today, 
by  many  of  his  **boys." 

Prof.  Sabsovich  combined  idealism  with  common  sense, 
and  that  he  succeeded  in  bringing  many  of  his  dreams  and 
visions  to  a  very  practical  and  material  form  amply  at- 
tests that  fact.  For  several  years  he  cherished  the  hope 
of  establishing  in  his  beloved  Woodbine  a  sort  of  Jewish 
government,  under  the  state  laws  of  New  Jersey,  and 
made  every  effort  to  incorporate  Woodbine  as  a  separate 
borough.  Infinite  patience  and  energy  were  required, 
yet,  despite  his  manifold  duties,  the  Professor  ultimately 
succeeded  in  seeing  his  ardent  desire  fulfilled.  Wood- 
bine became  a  small  Jewish  government,  a  separate  town- 
ship, with  its  own  Mayor,  common  council  and  its  own 
city  departments.  In  its  gratitude,  of  course,  Woodbine 
unanimously  elected  Professor  Sabsovich  its  first  Mayor, 
and  its  Mayor  he  continued  until  he  was  called  to  New 
York  City  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  general  man- 
ager of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund.  This  position  he 
occupied  until  his  death. 

His  last  request  was  that  he  be  buried  in  Woodbine, 
— the  Woodbine  he  made  and  loved,  and  which  loved 
and  will  love  him  for  all  time.  There  he  lies  in  peace, 
and,  while  his  memory  will  remain  green  in  the  hundreds 
of  hearts  which  knew  and  loved  him,  and  the  world  con- 
tinue to  be  enriched  through  the  many  lives  he  inspired 
and  moulded  with  his  own  indomitable  spirit  and  high 
aspirations,  his  monument  in  real  and  tangible  form  will 


OUR   TEACHER  187 

be  the  place  where  the  immigrant  Jew  first  learned  the 
independence  and  blessing  of  living  the  life  of  a  tiller 
of  the  soil — Woodbine. 

Could  any  man  desire  a  better  monument? 


THE  BARON  DE  HIRSCH  AGRICULTURAL 
SCHOOL 

BY  JACOB  G.  LIPMAN 
Director  of  New  Jersey  Agricultural  School 

In  planning  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  col- 
ony the  Trustees  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  had 
occasion  to  examine  and  consider  a  number  of  sites. 
They  finally  selected  a  tract  of  about  six  thousand  acres 
in  the  vicinity  of  Woodbine  and  Mount  Pleasant  in 
Cape  May  County,  New  Jersey.  Their  final  decision 
as  to  the  location  was  influenced  partly  by  the  low  cost 
of  the  land  and  partly  by  the  equable  climate,  favorable 
rainfall  conditions  and  the  proximity  of  the  land  to  im- 
portant eastern  markets. 

When  Professor  Sabsovich  was  appointed  agricultural 
adviser  of  the  newly  established  colony,  and  was  later 
made  responsible  for  its  agricultural  and  industrial  devel- 
opment, he  realized  that  he  was  confronted  by  certain 
serious  and  almost  insuperable  difficulties.  He  recognized 
that  the  open,  sandy  and  gravelly  soils  of  Cape  May  have 
their  possibilities.  He  saw  that  with  proper  methods  of 
tillage  and  fertilization  they  could  be  made  to  grow 
profitable  crops  of  vegetables,  small  fruits  and  tree  fruits. 
He  likewise  recognized  that  the  transforming  of  the 
newly  cleared  scrub  oak  and  pine  lands  into  productive 
soil  called  for  a  degree  of  technical  skill  and  of  special 
information  not  possessed  by  the  immigrants  from  the 

188 


DE  HIRSCH  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOL    189 

fertile  plains  of  southern  Russia  or  the  heavy,  low,  clay 
or  loam  soils  of  Poland  and  of  the  Baltic  Provinces. 

Gradually  he  came  to  feel  that  the  first  generation  of 
farmers  at  Woodbine  would,  at  best,  make  unsatisfactory 
progress,  but  that,  by  training  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
these  farmers  in  the  newer  methods  of  farming  and  par- 
ticularly in  those  most  directly  applicable  to  the  sandy 
and  gravelly  soils  of  the  Coastal  Plain,  it  might  become 
possible  to  extend  gradually  the  acreage  of  cleared  and 
improved  land  and  to  place  farming  in  the  new  colony 
on  a  sound  basis.  His  conviction  thus  grew  stronger 
in  behalf  of  organizing  more  or  less  systematic  training 
in  technical  and  theoretical  agriculture. 

It  is  probable  that  the  thought  as  to  the  organizing  of 
an  agricultural  school  at  Woodbine  was  fairly  mature 
in  1892.  His  contact  with  Dr.  E.  B.  Voorhees,  late 
Director  of  the  New  Jersey  Experiment  Station,  appar- 
ently strengthened  his  determination  to  utilize  to  the 
fullest  extent  every  opportunity  that  might  offer  itself 
in  behalf  of  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  school. 
In  the  fall  of  1893  he  suggested  to  the  writer  of  this 
article  and  to  Jacob  Kotinsky,  another  of  the  young 
farmers  at  Woodbine,  that  it  might  be  wise  for  them  to 
prepare  themselves  to  enter  the  State  Agricultural  Col- 
lege at  New  Brunswick.  His  enthusiasm  and  his  offer 
of  moral  and  financial  support  served  as  a  powerful 
stimulus  to  both  of  us,  even  though  we  had  been  out 
of  school  for  some  years.  We  applied  ourselves  faith- 
fully to  preparation  in  mathematics  and  in  other  subjects 
required  for  admission  to  the  College. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Professor  Sabsovich  we  met 
Dr.  Voorhees  in  the  fall  of  1893  and  were  by  him  further 
encouraged  to  prepare  for  an  agricultural  course  at  the 
College.    His  clear  vision  permitted  Professor  Sabsovich 


190    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

to  see  that  the  young  men,  through  their  contact  with  local 
needs  and  problems  reinforced  by  a  technical  training  in 
agriculture,  might  be  made  useful  fn  supplying  to  their 
neighbors  and  to  others  who  might  become  a  part  of  the 
agricultural  community  the  technical  information  so  es- 
sential for  the  successful  farming  of  the  lighter  soils 
of  southern  New  Jersey.  Throughout  the  fall  of  1893 
and  the  following  spring  and  summer  Professor  Sabso- 
vich  never  missed  an  opportunity  to  encourage  them  in 
their  preparation  for  college  and  to  tell  them  of  the 
opportunities  for  service  that  would  open  to  them  after 
they  would  have  acquired  the  necessary  training  and 
preparation.  He  saw  very  clearly  then  that  special  prob- 
lems of  fertilization,  special  types  of  crops,  the  control 
of  injurious  insects  and  of  fungus  diseases,  the  feeding 
of  livestock  and  many  other  problems  were  insistent  and 
would  become  more  insistent  as  time  went  on. 

The  Trustees  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund,  to  whom 
Professor  Sabsovich  broached  the  subject  of  establishing 
an  agricultural  school,  were  not  entirely  ready  to  accept 
his  suggestions.  Not  being  as  intimate  as  he  was  with 
the  local  conditions  and  needs,  they  could  not  see  the 
connection  between  technical  training  and  successful 
farming  in  Cape  May  County.  In  spite  of  lack  of  en- 
couragement and  in  many  instances  of  actual  discourage- 
ment. Professor  Sabsovich  never  lost  faith  in  the  ultimate 
success  of  his  plan  and  urged  whenever  and  wherever  he 
could  that  funds  be  made  available  for  systematic  instruc- 
tion in  agriculture. 

Finally  a  modest  beginning  was  made  in  1895,  when 
instruction  was  more  or  less  regularly  organized  for  a 
group  of  the  sons  of  local  farmers.  This  instruction 
included  classroom  training  in  certain  general  subjects 
like  arithmetic,  modem  history  and  geography,  as  well 


DE  HIRSCH  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOL    191 

as  purely  agricultural  subjects.  The  equipment  was  quite 
limited  in  extent.  Nor  were  there  funds  available  for 
the  hiring  of  men  trained  in  the  teaching  of  technical 
agriculture.  Indeed,  the  methods  of  teaching  agricul- 
ture were  quite  crude  in  those  days  even  at  the  state 
agricultural  colleges.  The  body  of  knowledge,  out  of 
which  textbooks  are  made,  was  meagre  and  the  connec- 
tion between  classroom  and  laboratory  instruction  and 
field  practice  less  clearly  definite.  For  this  reason,  Pro- 
fessor Sabsovich  and  his  associates  had  to  feel  their  way 
as  they  went.  Changes  in  the  curriculum  were  made  fre- 
quently as  experience  indicated  improved  methods  of 
teaching.  As  funds  became  more  ample  laboratory  as 
well  as  classroom  instruction  was  organized  and  the 
agricultural  equipment  was  made  more  adequate. 

Within  a  decade  after  the  establishment  of  the  school 
Professor  Sabsovich  succeeded,  through  untiring  efforts, 
in  providing  a  modem  school  plant.  A  large  brick 
building,  containing  offices,  classrooms  and  laboratories, 
dormitories  large  enough  to  house  nearly  one  hundred 
students,  dairy  barns  and  silos,  poultry  buildings,  green- 
houses, storage  sheds,  machinery  repair  sheds,  dining 
halls  and  other  buildings  were  erected  and  courses  in 
systematic  study  organized. 

A  body  of  young  but  promising  instructors  were  gath- 
ered about  Professor  Sabsovich  and  the  Baron  de  Hirsch 
Agricultural  School  became  nearly  two  decades  ago  a 
pioneer  in  its  field  of  vocational  training  in  agriculture. 
Many  of  the  faculty  attained  prominence  as  investigators 
and  teachers  in  agriculture.  Men  like  Professor  White 
of  Cornell,  Lewis  of  Rutgers  College,  Billings  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Garrigues  of 
the  Connecticut  Agricultural  College  and  a  number  of 
others  began  their  professional  careers  at  the  Baron  de 


192    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

Hirsch  Agricultural  School.  The  success  of  many  of  the 
graduates  of  the  institution,  their  attainments  in  practical 
agriculture  and  in  the  profession  of  agriculture  bear 
testimony  to  Professor  Sabsovich's  clearness  of  vision 
and  justified  his  faith  and  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
agricultural  education. 

In  later  years  the  Trustees  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch 
Fund  found  it  necessary  to  remove  the  agricultural  school 
from  Woodbine.  They  were  guided  principally  by  the 
wish  to  locate  their  school  nearer  to  New  York  City, 
where  most  of  the  students  came  from  and  where  a  num- 
ber of  the  active  Trustees  lived.  There  were  also  other 
reasons  which  to  them  seemed  sufficient  for  building  a 
new  school  plant  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  City. 
Meanwhile,  the  World  War  came  to  disturb  the  normal 
activities  in  the  United  States  and  the  young  men  who 
would  ordinarily  have  become  students  at  the  school 
were  called  to  military  service.  The  plan  of  the  Trus- 
tees to  develop  a  new  school  plant  was,  therefore,  never 
carried  out. 

It  is  doubtful  whether,  under  conditions  as  they  exist 
today,  there  would  be  justification  for  making  a  large 
investment  in  the  school  in  order  that  it  might  be  made 
to  function  again.  The  vocational  agricultural  schools 
which  have  come  into  being  within  recent  years  make  the 
reopening  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Agricultural  School 
unnecessary.  It  may  be  said,  therefore,  that  Professor 
Sabsovich  has  established  an  institution  which  rendered 
an  important  service  at  a  time  when  other  institutions  of 
a  like  nature  were  not  available.  He  fulfilled  a  great  pub- 
lic need.  He  laid  the  foundation  of  character ;  he  taught 
many  young  men  the  power  of  ideals  and  of  devoted 
service.  Having  for  many  years  unselfishly  labored  for 
the  cause,  having  been  faithful  to  his  trust,  having  built 


DE  HIRSCH  AGRICULTURAL  SCHOOL    193 

much  that  is  indestructible,  Professor  Sabsovich  needs 
no  monument  of  granite  to  perpetuate  his  memory.  His 
own  example  of  loyal  service  will  continue  to  be  the 
inspiration  of  those  who,  like  him,  would  serve  their 
fellowmen. 


THE  JEWISH   FARMERS'   BEST   FRIEND 

BY  JOSEPH  W.  PINCUS 

Professor  Sabsovich  was  to  me  more  than  a  teacher, 
an  ideal  preceptor.  He  was  a  real  friend,  who  played  a 
very  determining  part  in  my  career,  as  he  has  played  in 
that  of  many  young  men  in  America. 

Even  before  I  came  to  the  United  States  I  heard  of 
Professor  Sabsovich  through  the  letters  of  my  deceased 
father,  who  preceded  me  and  the  rest  of  our  family  to 
this  country,  by  six  or  seven  months.  In  the  letters  my 
father  wrote  that  he  had  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
Professor  Sabsovich,  a  "landsman  of  ours  from  Ber- 
diansk,"  and  that,  together  with  the  Professor,  just  then 
appointed  agriculturist  by  the  newly-organized  Baron 
de  Hirsch  Fund  of  America,  he  had  been  inspecting  farms 
in  Bridgeton  and  other  sections  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey. 

Although  I  came  to  America  in  the  fall  of  1891,  I  did 
not  have  the  opportunity  of  meeting  Professor  Sabso- 
vich until  the  spring  of  1895,  when,  largely  on  his  ad- 
vice, I  entered  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Agricultural  School 
at  Woodbine.  While  the  School  was  established  in  1894, 
all  the  pupils  up  to  1895  were  sons  of  Woodbine  settlers, 
and  I  had  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  student  from 
outside  the  colony.  Well  do  I  remember  the  warm  re- 
ception and  hearty  welcome  which  I  received  from  the 
Professor  and  his  family  upon  my  arrival  at  Woodbine ; 
and  from  the  first  day  of  my  acquaintance  with  him  I 
formed  an  attachment   for  him  which  grew   into   real 

194 


JEWISH   FARMERS'    BEST    FRIEND   195 

affection,  increasing  from  year  to  year  as  I  learned  to 
know  the  man  better  and  came  into  closer  contact  with 
him.  It  was  entirely  due  to  his  advice  and  influence  that 
I  decided  to  enter  an  agricultural  college,  to  return  to 
Woodbine  to  become  his  co-worker  and  to  devote 
twenty  years  of  my  life  to  work  for  and  among  Jewish 
farmers  in  the  United  States. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  the  Woodbine  Colony, 
while  the  tract  of  land  was  covered  with  pine  and  oak 
trees,  which  the  pioneers  were  clearing  away,  he  saw 
the  necessit3r  of  imparting  proper  scientific  information 
to  the  farmers,  and  the  first  winter  at  Woodbine,  Pro- 
fessor Sabsovich  delivered  lectures,  illustrated  with  stere- 
opticon  slides,  on  agricultural  topics.  Notwithstanding 
his  numerous  and  arduous  duties  at  Woodbine,  he  found 
time  to  go  frequently  to  the  South  Jersey  Jewish  colonies, 
at  Alliance,  Carmel  and  Norma,  and  address  the  farmers 
there,  encourage  them  in  their  work,  and  deliver  illus- 
trated lectures.  As  far  back  as  1895  he  advocated  the 
establishment  of  a  canning  factory  in  these  colonies,  and 
about  ten  years  later  they  were  established  in  each  one. 

In  1894  he  went  to  Chesterfield  and  Colchester,  Conn., 
to  deliver  lectures  to  the  Jewish  farmers  there.  These 
were  delivered  in  Yiddish.  As  Professor  Sabsovich  was 
born  and  reared  in  South  Russia  (Ukraine),  and  his 
native  language  was  Russian,  his  Yiddish  was  rather 
poor,  and  he  had  to  learn  the  language  in  order  to  make 
himself  understood.  The  Professor  was  the  first  man 
in  the  United  States  to  deliver  lectures  in  Yiddish  on 
agricultural  topics,  and  he  thus  preceded  by  about  fifteen 
years  the  work  of  itinerant  instruction,  and  lecturing  In 
Yiddish,  inaugurated  by  the  Jewish  Agricultural  and 
Industrial  Society  in  1908. 

The  first  exhibition  of  farm  products  raised  by  Jewish 


196    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

farmers  in  America  was  also  arranged  by  Professor  Sab- 
sovich  in  1897  at  the  Hebrew  Educational  Society's  build- 
ing in  Philadelphia.  At  this  fair  there  were  products 
not  only  from  Woodbine,  but  also  from  all  other  Jewish 
colonies  in  New  Jersey,  as  well  as  from  many  farmers 
in  Connecticut.  About  five  or  six  years  later,  also  at 
the  initiative  of  and  participation  in  of  Professor  Sabso- 
vich,  an  exhibition  of  Jewish  life  in  the  country  was 
held  at  the  Educational  Alliance  Building  in  New  York 
City.  This  exhibit  showed  by  photographs,  charts,  etc., 
how  people  lived  on  farms  and  in  small  villages  in  the 
United  States.  It  was  held  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund,  the  Jewish  Agricultural  Society, 
and  the  Removal  Office,  and  was  a  revelation  to  city 
dwellers,  as  it  revealed  to  them  the  fact  that  New  York 
was  not  "America";  that  there  were  hundreds  of  small 
villages  and  thousands  of  farms  throughout  the  country 
where  Jews  lived  happily,  and  where  there  was  plenty 
of  room  and  opportunity  for  city  dwellers  to  breathe  and 
live  comfortably  in  beautiful  surroundings,  away  from 
squalid  and  cramped  quarters  in  the  Big  City.  The  ex- 
hibit was  a  wonderful  success,  and  received  the  very 
favorable  comment  of  the  press ;  and,  by  special  requests 
from  Boston,  Philadelphia  and  other  large  cities,  it  made 
the  round  of  these  places. 

While  talking  of  exhibits,  it  is  also  interesting  to  point 
out  the  fact  that  Professor  Sabsovich  was  always  inter- 
ested in  bringing  to  the  attention  of  the  outside  world 
the  ability  of  the  Jew  to  become  a  successful  farmer, 
and  for  this  reason  he  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  ex- 
hibiting the  products  and  results  of  the  work  in  Wood- 
bine Colony.  At  many  of  the  Cape  May  County  Fairs 
and  others  held  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  he  encour- 
aged the  farmers  and  the  Agricultural  School  to  exhibit 


JEWISH   FARMERS'    BEST    FRIEND   197       _ 

crops,  and  there  was  not  a  happier  man  in  the  State  when 
a  Jewish  farmer  or  the  School  was  awarded  a  prize  or 
blue  ribbon  for  a  great  pumpkin,  a  fine  hen  or  a  plate 
of  superb  peaches. 

At  the  Universal  Paris  Exposition  held  in  France  in 
1900  an  exhibit  was  prepared  under  his  direction,  and  a 
silver  medal  was  given  for  the  Exhibit  of  Special  Educa- 
tion in  Agriculture ;  another  silver  medal  for  Appliances 
and  Methods  in  Horticulture  and  Arboriculture,  and  a 
grand  prix  for  Exhibit  of  School  Appliances. 

At  the  Pan-American  Exposition,  held  in  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  in  1901,  for  an  exhibit  of  photographs,  charts, 
etc.,  of  Woodbine  Colony  and  the  Agricultural  School, 
prepared  by  Professor  Sabsovich,  an  Honorary  Mention 
Diploma  was  awarded. 

For  the  World's  Fair,  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1904,  a  more 
elaborate  exhibit  was  prepared,  consisting  of  several 
hundred  photographs,  showing  in  detail  the,  progress  of 
the  Colony  in  agricultural,  social,  religious  and  munici- 
pal fields,  and  also  the  work  and  life  of  the  pupils  at  the 
Baron  de  Hirsch  Agricultural  School.  Besides  photo- 
graphs there  was  a  complete  set  of  publications  of  the 
School,  covering  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund,  the  Colony, 
pupils'  work,  textbooks  used,  charts,  diagrams,  reports, 
etc.  The  excellence  of  the  exhibit  can  be  judged  not  only 
by  the  award  of  the  gold  medal  by  the  St.  Louis  Fair 
officials,  but  by  the  fact  that  Harvard  University  re- 
quested that  this  particular  exhibit  be  presented  to  its 
Department  of  Social  Science,  where  it  is  at  present 
located. 

All  the  time,  during  1891  to  1905,  although  exceed- 
ingly occupied  with  the  work  of  managing  the  Colony, 
and  the  organization  and  directing  of  the  School,  and 
notwithstanding  several  physical  breakdowns   suffered, 


198    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

Professor  Sabsovich  took  an  active  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  Jewish  colonists  in  New  Jersey  and  other 
states.  He  went  frequently  for  conferences  to  New  York 
with  Mr.  Arthur  Reichow,  in  charge  of  the  New  York 
office,  through  whose  efforts  the  sister  organization,  the 
Jewish  Agricultural  Industrial  Society  was  started,  and 
its  first  General  Manager.  This  society  took  over  all 
the  agricultural  work  done  by  the  Fund,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Agricultural  School.  Later  Professor  Sab- 
sovich was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Jewish  Agricul- 
tural Society. 

When  Professor  Sabsovich  became  the  General  Agent 
of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  in  1906  and  settled  in  New 
York  City,  his  duties  did  not  bring  him  into  contact  with 
the  farmers,  as  this  work  had  been  taken  over  by  the 
Jewish  Agricultural  Society.  But  many  farmers,  when- 
ever they  wanted  a  sympathetic  hearing  or  advice  on  any 
subject,  would  write  to  him  and  frequently  visit  him,  and 
he  continued  to  take  an  active  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
the  Jewish  farmers  until  his  last  days. 

When  the  Federation  of  Jewish  farmers  of  America 
was  organized  in  January,  1909,  he  was  unanimously 
elected  as  the  First  Honorary  member,  and  he  addressed 
the  first  as  well  as  all  the  other  annual  conventions.  In 
the  fall  of  1909,  in  connection  with  the  Convention  of 
the  Farmers,  an  agricultural  fair  and  exhibit  was  held 
on  the  roof  and  in  the  gymnasium  of  the  Educational 
Alliance,  and  Professor  Sabsovich  was  chairman  of  the 
Jury  of  Awards.  The  fair  was  a  very  successful  one  and 
hundreds  of  exhibits  of  fruits,  vegetables,  dairy,  grain 
products,  and  the  results  of  the  skill  of  the  farmers' 
wives,  in  canned  goods,  preserves,  etc.,  were  sent  in  by 
Jewish  farmers  from  New  Jersey,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  Massachusetts,  and  even  from  North  Dakota  and 


JEWISH   FARMERS'    BEST    FRIEND   199 

other  western  states.  The  Professor  worked  very  hard 
for  several  days,  examining  all  these  offerings,  with 
experts  from  the  State  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations, 
and  awarding  medals  and  diplomas  for  the  best  exhibits. 
Any  reader  happening  to  visit  the  homes  of  these  farmers 
today  would  see  these  framed  documents  on  the  walls, 
where  they  would  be  pointed  to  with  pride  and  the  sig- 
nature of  Professor  Sabsovich  with  sorrow. 

On  numerous  occasions  the  Professor  and  I  visited 
Colchester,  Conn.,  Ellington,  Conn.,  and  Nassau,  N.  Y., 
to  address  the  local  associations  of  the  Jewish  farmers. 
I  recollect  that,  on  several  occasions,  although  his  health 
was  very  poor,  he  would  go,  in  order  that  the  farmers 
might  not  be  disappointed,  and  frequently  we  had  to 
travel  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  by  horses,  as  at  that  time 
there  were  no  automobiles. 

I  remember  clearly  the  last  meeting  attended  by  Pro- 
fessor Sabsovich.  It  was  the  organization  meeting  of 
the  First  Farmers*  Saving  and  Loan  Association  under 
the  newly  organized  Land  Bank  of  New  York,  held  at 
Centerville  Station,  Sullivan  County,  N.  Y.  It  was  early 
in  the  spring  of  1914,  and  the  Professor  was  convalescing 
after  rather  a  severe  illness  at  Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, 
and  I  stopped  there  for  him,  and  he  went,  accompanied 
by  Mrs.  Sabsovich.  We  arrived  safely  at  Centerville 
Station,  and  the  Professor  spoke  a  few  encouraging 
words  to  the  farmers.  After  the  meeting  we  drove  over 
to  Mr.  Samuel  Shindler's  farm  at  Hurleyville,  and  as  the 
elevation  is  about  fifteen  hundred  feet  there  and  the  air 
cold  and  rarefied  to  a  marked  degree,  the  Professor  spent 
a  very  restless  night.  Mrs.  Sabsovich  was  certainly  glad 
to  get  him  back  home  safely. 

When  the  Federation  of  Jewish  Farmers  of  America 
was  organized,  there  was  created  an  advisory  committee. 


200    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

of  which  Professor  Sabsovlch,  of  course,  was  a  member. 
He  never  missed  a  single  meeting,  unless  ill  in  bed.  He 
kept  up  this  interest  until  the  last  days  of  his  life.  About 
a  week  or  ten  days  before  his  death,  Mr.  Hein,  President 
of  the  Federation  of  Jewish  Farmers,  and  I  visited  him 
at  his  bedside,  and  he  asked  a  number  of  questions  about 
the  work  of  the  organization. 

When  the  Jewish  Agricultural  Society  started  the  pub- 
lication of  The  Jewish  Fckrmer  in  May,  1908,  I  consulted 
with  him  on  this  venture,  as  I  remembered  that  as  far 
back  as  1891  Professor  Sabsovich  was  instrumental  in 
publishing  The  Jewish  Farmer;  but,  due  to  the  rather 
limited  number  of  Jewish  farmers,  it  appeared  for  only 
about  one  year.  He  was,  though,  the  first  man  in  Amer- 
ica who  felt  that  there  was  a  need  for  a  special  publica- 
tion for  them,  and  in  1904  he  was  editor  of  Farmers' 
Leaflets,  published  at  Woodbine  and  containing  timely 
articles  on  farming  contributed  by  the  instructors  at  the 
Agricultural  School. 

'  Besides  his  active  participation  in  every  phase  of  Jew- 
ish agriculture.  Professor  Sabsovich  took  an  active  part 
in  the  agricultural  affairs  of  the  state.  He  was  for  a 
number  of  years  the  Secretary  of  the  Cape  May  County 
Board  of  Agriculture,  and  in  that  capacity  submitted  a 
number  of  very  interesting  reports  on  agricultural  con- 
ditions in  the  County.  These  were  all  incorporated  in 
the  annual  reports  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Board  of 
Agriculture.  Some  of  the  contributions  were  so  inter- 
esting and  well  written  that  the  special  attention  of  the 
Governor  of  New  Jersey  was  called  to  them,  and  Profes- 
sor Sabsovich  was  invited  a  number  of  times  to  important 
conferences.  He  was  later  appointed  a  Trustee  of  the 
New  Jersey  State  Agricultural  College  and  Experiment 
Station  at  New  Brunswick,  N,  J.,  the  first  and  probably 


JEWISH   FARMERS'   BEST   FRIEND  201 

the  only  Jew  who  ever  held  such  an  honorary  position. 
He  attended  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  annual  con- 
ventions of  the  New  Jersey  State  Board  of  Agriculture 
and  the  New  Jersey  State  Horticultural  Society. 

There  has  not  been  an  agricultural  movement  of  any 
kind  among  Jews  in  which  Professor  Sabsovich  did  not 
participate,  or  regarding  which  his  valued  advice  was  not 
sought ;  therefore  it  is  no  wonder  that  all  the  old  farmers 
in  New  Jersey  and  other  eastern  states  remember  and 
revere  him.  In  Woodbine  the  clearing  of  the  land,  the 
planting  of  fruit  trees,  the  equipment  of  the  farms  and 
all  the  numerous  details  were  done  u-nder  his  personal 
supervision.  He  had  a  remarkable  memory  and  could 
recall  not  only  the  names  of  all  the  farmers,  but  the  names 
of  all  the  children ;  and,  when  visiting  the  farms  months, 
or  even  years  later,  would  inquire  about  each  and  every 
individual  member  of  the  family. 

.  Besides  his  remarkable  influence  on  the  Jewish  farmer, 
I  desire  to  note  briefly  his  wonderful  influence  upon  the 
younger  generation.  Early  at  the  start  of  Woodbine 
Colony,  he  saw  the  importance,  the  necessity  of  interest- 
ing the  children  in  farming,  and  it  was  largely  due  to  his 
effort  and  perseverance  that  the  trustees  of  the  Baron  de 
Hirsch  Fund  started  the  Agricultural  School  in  1895. 
The  growth  and  progress  of  the  School  was  largely  due 
to  his  indomitable  energy,  courage  and  ability  to  work 
against  almost  insuperable  difficulties  and  obstacles.  I 
hope  that  some  day  a  historian  will  be  found  to  describe 
minutely  the  tremendous  work  that  Professor  Sabsovich 
accomplished  at  the  Woodbine  Agricultural  School.  I 
wish  to  mention  here  the  names  of  a  few  pioneer  Jewish 
agriculturists  who  embarked  on  this  career  in  1894  and 
the  years  that  followed,  at  a  time  when  medicine  was 
considered  the  only  honorable  profession  for  the  Jew  in 


202    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

America.  It  was  largely,  if  not  entirely,  due  to  the 
Professor's  advice  and  frequently  to  the  financial  aid 
obtained  by  him  for  many  of  the  students  at  the  agricul- 
tural colleges  that  so  many  of  the  men  took  up  these 
courses. 

The  first  men  who  were  graduated  from  agricultural  ^ 
colleges  in  the  United  States  in  1898  were :  Jacob  G. : 
Lipman,  Jacob  Kotinsky  and  myself.  Dr.  Jacob  G.  Lip- 
man,  besides  becoming  a  renowned  soil  bacteriologist  and 
author  of  several  scientific  books,  is  now  Director  of  the 
New  Jersey  State  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  and 
Dean  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  of  New  Jersey  State 
University,  the  highest  agricultural  educative  position 
ever  held  by  a  Jew  in  America,  or  probably  in  the  world. 
Jacob  Kotinsky  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  prominent 
entomologist,  occupying  positions  of  responsibility  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  and  in  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture. 

Among  many  others,  the  following  may  be  mentioned : 
David  Fink,  entomologist  in  the  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture;  Marcus  Smulyan,  also  an  entomologist; 
Dr.  Charles  B.  Lipman,  Professor  of  Soil  Chemistry  at 
the  University  of  California ;  George  W.  Simon,  Western 
Agent  of  the  Jewish  Agricultural  Society;  Dr.  Arthur 
Goldhaft,  a  successful  practicing  veterinarian  at  Vine- 
land,  N.  J.;  Dr.  I.  V.  Stone,  a  chemist.  I  could  go  on 
and  enumerate  many,  many  more  successful  farmers, 
doctors,  veterinarians,  social  workers,  lawyers,  etc.,  who 
owe  their  start  in  life  in  this — ^their  new  country  of  adop- 
tion— to  the  advice,  help  and  splendid  example  of  service, 
for  the  benefit  of  his  people,  of  their  dear  friend  and 
teacher.  Professor  H.  L.  Sabsovich. 

The  foregoing  brief  sketch  of  the  Professor's  devotion 
and  activity  for  the  Jewish  farmer  is  very  inadequate. 


JEWISH   FARMERS'    BEST    FRIEND  203 

and  does  not  do  justice  to  the  first  man  who  had  the  real 
vision  that  in  farming  lies  the  salvation  and  regeneration 
of  the  Jewish  race.  Had  his  advice  been  followed  to  a 
larger  degree  and  had  there  been  more  dreamers  of  his 
kind,  we  might  have  had  a  different  picture  of  the  Jew 
in  America  and  less  suffering  in  the  whole  world !  Had 
we  now  a  few  hundred  thousands,  instead  of  a  few  thou- 
sands of  successful  Jewish  farmers  in  the  United  States, 
possibly  we  would  not  have  restriction  of  immigration 
and  vast  numbers  of  our  unfortunate  brethren  in  Central 
Europe  would  have  a  haven  of  refuge !  Had  we  several 
hundreds  of  successful  colonies  and  several  good  agricul- 
tural schools,  the  prospects  for  the  Jew  in  America  and 
the  ultimate  Jewish  settlement  of  Palestine  would  be 
much  brighter ! 

The  hundreds  of  young  men  who  have  been  graduated 
from  the  agricultural  schools  and  colleges  in  this  country, 
and  many  hundreds  who  are  now  students  at  these  insti- 
tutions still  have  an  opportunity  to  show  to  the  world 
that  Professor  Sabsovich,  the  pioneer  agriculturist  and 
dreamer,  did  not  sacrifice  his  life  in  vain ;  that  his  won- 
derful example  of  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  Jew  in 
agriculture  has  not  been  lost ;  and  that  coming  years  will 
show  how  successful  the  settlements  in  Palestine  will  be 
and  how  multiplied  in  prosperity  and  numbers  the  Jewish 
farmers  of  America. 


THE  LEADER  OF  JEWISH  AGRICULTURE  IN 
AMERICA 

BY  GEORGE  W.  SIMON 

The  historian  recording  the  progress  of  Jewish  Farm- 
ing in  the  United  States,  would  undoubtedly  consider 
the  late  Prof.  H.  L.  Sabsovich  as  the  father  of  the  organ- 
ized Jewish  agricultural  movement  in  the  United  States. 
While  there  were  several  attempts  to  colonize  the  Jewish 
people  prior  to  1890,  the  leaders  were,  as  a  rule,  laymen 
and  knew  little  about  agriculture.  Their  work  had  mainly 
a  charitable  aspect  with  a  touch  of  idealism  to  it,  and 
therefore  the  results  were  usually  negative.  Prof.  Sab- 
sovich was  the  first  trained  agriculturist  connected  with 
the  Jewish  farming  movement  in  this  country,  and  his 
were  the  first  efforts  of  a  systematic  and  practical  nature 
towards  creating  a  Jewish  farming  class  in  the  United 
States.  He  had  great  faith  in  the  possibilities  of  Jewish 
farming  in  this  country  and  possessed  a  keen  insight  as 
to  how  to  develop  the  new  field  of  activities  among  our 
Jewish  people. 

Considerable  criticism  was  heaped  upon  the  Professor 
in  the  Jewish  press  and  by  the  general  public  at  large 
because  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund  concentrated  its  ef- 
forts in  Woodbine,  New  Jersey,  in  the  early  nineties, 
a  locality  which  was  in  the  poorest  agricultural  section 
of  that  state.  It  was  natural  for  outsiders  to  blame  the 
man  who  was  at  the  head  of  that  enterprise.  Had  the 
people  considered  the  matter  carefully,  they  would  have 

204 


LEADER   OF   JEWISH   AGRICULTURE    205 

learned  that  the  Professor  was  not  responsible  for  the 
selection  of  the  locality.  They  would  then  have  realized 
the  heroic  and  indefatigable  work  of  a  great  leader  who 
sacrificed  his  life  and  health  to  make  a  success  of  the 
enterprise  in  spite  of  the  adverse  conditions.  They  would 
have  appreciated  his  efforts  to  further  the  cause  of  Jewish 
farming  and  thus  protect  the  name  of  our  Jewish  people 
by  proving  to  the  world  at  large  that  the  Jews  can  be 
producers  as  well  as  consumers. 

While  I  lived  in  New  York,  it  was  my  privilege  to 
spend  Saturdays  and  Sundays  with  the  late  Professor 
Sabsovich  and  take  long  walks  through  the  parks,  when 
we  would  discuss  various  problems  pertaining  to  the 
question  of  Jewish  farming.  About  three  years  before 
he  passed  away,  during  one  of  these  conversations,  he 
told  me,  that  in  looking  over  the  old  papers  in  the  office, 
he  came  across  his  first  report  which  he  submitted  after 
his  first  visit  to  Woodbine.  In  that  report  he  pointed 
out  the  difficulties  which  must  be  overcome  in  Woodbine 
and  the  natural  obstacles  in  the  way  of  success.  He 
then  suggested  that  the  Jewish  settlers  should  be  directed 
to  New  England,  where  land  with  good  buildings  could 
be  purchased  very  reasonably,  and  where  the  conditions 
are  more  favorable  to  diversified  farming.  A  few  years 
later  his  suggestion  was  adopted  and  since  then  the  efforts 
of  the  Fund  were  directed  towards  settling  people  on 
developed  farms  in  New  England,  New  York,  New  Jer- 
sey and  elsewhere.  It  is  a  most  gratifying  fact  that  the 
most  progressive  and  prosperous  settlement  of  Jewish 
farmers  in  the  United  States  is  located  in  Connecticut, 
where  they  practically  control  the  tobacco  growing  in- 
dustry. 

Nevertheless,  Professor  Sabsovich^s  work  in  Wood- 
bine has  not  been  done  in  vain,  since  it  will  serve  for  the 


206    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

future  leaders  in  the  agricultural  movement  as  a  light- 
house serves  to  the  stranded  ship  in  the  night  or  in  the 
fog,  warning  them  to  keep  away  from  the  shore  and 
look  out  for  the  breakers.  The  experiments  carried  on 
in  Woodbine,  N.  J.,  while  not  always  bringing  the  desired 
results,  are  nevertheless  invaluable  and  will  serve  as  a 
basis  for  practical  study  of  land  settlements  and  will  save 
a  loss  of  time  and  money,  as  well  as  prevent  failure,  if 
the  people  who  are  interested  will  avail  themselves  of 
the  opportunity  to  look  into  this  carefully.  In  his  work 
at  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Agricultural  School,  which  is  dis- 
cussed elsewhere,  he  has  helped  to  create  a  class  of 
trained  scientific  Jewish  agriculturists,  whose  leadership 
is  indispensable  to  the  cause  of  Jewish  farming.  Many 
of  these  have  become  leaders  in  agriculture  in  the  United 
States. 

During  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  as  the  head  of 
the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund,  his  activities  were  in  widely 
scattered  fields  of  social  endeavor,  but  his  influence  upon 
the  agricultural  movement  among  the  Jewish  people, 
while  indirect,  was  nevertheless  predominant. 

Professor  Sabsovich  was  one  of  the  first  to  advocate 
and  edit  The  Jewish  Farmer  publication  in  Yiddish  in 
the  year  1900,  which  was  later  on  suspended  for  a  while 
until  we  had  sufficient  people  who  could  utilize  the  serv- 
ices of  such  a  paper.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  advocate 
the  introduction  of  horticulture  and  agriculture  in  the 
various  orphan  asylums  in  the  United  States,  since  in 
his  opinion  many  of  the  wards  would  develop  an  inclina- 
tion to  take  farming  up  as  a  vocation  and  thus  afford 
many  a  healthy  opportunity  to  grow  outside  of  the  con- 
gested and  overcrowded  cities.  The  importance  of  this 
suggestion  has  not  been  realized  as  yet,  but  the  fact  is 
that  while  we  have  gradually  developed  a  class  of  Jewish 


LEADER   OF  JEWISH   AGRICULTURE    207  ^       — 

farmers  and  while  we  have  a  number  of  young  men  who 
have  taken  up  agriculture  as  a  vocation  from  the  practi- 
cal and  scientific  point  of  view,  most  of  them  are  handi- 
capped in  carrying  out  their  desire  because  they  cannot 
find  Jewish  girls  who  would  be  willing  to  share  with 
them  their  lives  on  a  farm.  We  are  still  to  find  a  way 
to  develop  the  love  for  country  life  among  our  Jewish 
women.  The  suggestion  made  by  the  late  Professor 
Sabsovich  would  serve  as  a  good  nucleus  for  that  purpose. 

For  twenty-five  years,  quietly  and  unassumingly  he 
continued  to  use  his  influence  in  directing  the  agricultural 
movement  among  our  Jewish  people  in  the  United  States, 
and  the  results  obtained  in  that  field  can  to  a  great  extent 
be  placed  to  his  credit,  since  the  majority  of  the  present 
leaders  in  that  field  have  directly  or  indirectly  felt  his 
influence. 

Unfortunately,  like  Moses,  he  was  not  destined  by 
fate  to  lead  his  people  to  the  promised  land.  He  did 
not  live  to  see  the  present  development  of  the  Jewish 
agricultural  movement  in  this  country,  which  is  now 
greatly  expanding.  There  were  very  few  Jewish  farmers 
when  Prof.  Sabsovich  first  started  to  work  among  our 
people  and  encourage  them  to  take  up  farming. 

There  are  now  over  10,000  prosperous  Jewish  farmers 
in  the  United  States,  tilling  and  occupying  over  1,000,000 
acres  of  land  worth  from  $75,000,000  to  $100,000,000  at 
the  least.  I  am  sure  that  he  would  rejoice  to  witness 
the  splendid  progress  attained  by  our  Jewish  people  in 
the  field  of  farming,  but  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  he 
had  the  foresight  to  feel  it  and  to  know  it,  which  gave 
him  the  courage  to  continue  persistently  his  fight  in  that 
direction. 

The  writer,  who  has  for  the  past  fifteen  years  been 
actively  connected  with  the  Jewish  farming  movement 


208    FROM  THOSE  WHO  KNEW  HIM  BEST 

in  the  United  States,  is  in  a  position  to  state  authorita- 
tively that  the  Jewish  farmers  are  recognized  as  leaders 
in  their  various  communities.  Furthermore,  in  some 
branches  of  farming,  such  as  tobacco  growing,  fruit 
growing,  poultry  raising,  and  other  branches,  our  Jewish 
farmers,  if  they  do  not  excel,  are  at  least  equal  to  any 
of  the  native  farmers  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  above  brief  sketch  I  endeavored  modestly  to  pay 
a  well  deserved  tribute  to  a  great  man,  a  leader  of  our 
people,  who  sacrificed  his  life  in  his  efforts  to  serve  a 
worthy  cause.  May  his  life  serve  as  an  inspiration  to 
the  Jewish  people  and  especially  to  those  who  are  en- 
gaged in  the  field  of  social  endeavor,  so  we  can  at  least 
say  that  the  Professor  did  not  live  in  vain. 


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